Always on the lookout for new restaurants in Johannesburg,
reading about That’s Amore on a very popular Jhb-blog ( let’s call it Joburg’s
Sweetheart for the purpose of this review) we were ecstatic to hear about this
authentic Italian gem in Parktown.
So according to the review, this place is such a jewel, and
you have to book at least 2 weeks in advance, which we then abided by. Never
the less, upon arriving we were the only table of patrons. Later 2 other tables
of 2 arrived.
There is so much to say about That’s Amore, but very little
to nothing of it is very Amore… where to start?
The Good – ambiance is ok, and the wall with the name on is
pretty. I also liked the glass panelled kitchen. And the beautiful big wine
glasses.
The Bad – Service. Menu. Food.
Wine.
The only waiter is actually the owner of this hole in the
wall, and catching her attention is unbelievably so – rather difficult. As I
mentioned there were only 3 tables on this evening. Have you ever heard the one
liner “service with a smile” ? Well, the folks at That’s Amore, have obviously
not…
On the website, they boast a very extensive specials menu,
more or less double the size of the normal dinner menu, which I found a little
strange. However once seated and waiting for the specials, out of the 30 on the
website there was only about 3 specials mentioned? This was rather disappointing,
as one of my fellow diners was looking forward to having one of the 5 duck
dishes they boast about, but not even one of these were available. I mentioned our disappointment with regards to
this, and the manager/waiter came back from the kitchen 3min later to advise
that they do have duck, but it will take at least 45min… the only way a duck
breast can ever take 45min to prepare is: A) if it is frozen, and you need to defrost it
before cooking; or B) if you’re planning on turning it into charcoal to use for
fire later. In this case I think it was option A. Have restaurants not learned,
that in this day and age, patrons do not want frozen food to be reheated for
them, especially if the price you’re paying is that of authentic fresh food.
Let it be known – we are not fools.
We started off with the Caprese salad for the table, whilst
waiting on one more friend to arrive. The R105 dish consisted purely of 5
slices of tomato, 5 slices of buffalo mozzarella, and one basil leaf – yes, one
solitary little leaf. I questioned whether perhaps they brought us a half
portion, as surely this could not be the one for more than a hundred Rand. I
was wrong. We did ask if it was feasible that we have more basil leaves, as
this is supposed to be a 3rd of the dish, we then received an
unfriendly side plate with a couple more leaves, in the end, at least we all
had one basil leaf.
I have to mention that I find it strange for the above 10
piece dish to be more expensive than the main Meaty dishes. We were advised in
no uncertain manner that our comments and feedback was not appreciated, and
that everything was imported from Italy… (Even the frozen duck breast and
tomato? – I have my doubts).
On to mains – Gorgonzola Gnocchi, not bad, not brilliant either
but very mean with the Gorgonzola sauce. The spinach and ricotta ravioli was nice,
good amount of filling and nice balance of flavour, again a little shy on the
sauce. The “special” seafood pasta was…well, a bowl of dry spaghetti, 2 mussels,
one clam and a butterflied baby prawn, the Neapolitan sauce was virtually
undetectable.
I think my favourite
of all was the “Spaghetti e Vongole” -
described as Neapolitan spaghetti with imported clams – a very generous 8 clams.
Now have a look at the pictures – the Raviolini with Neapolitan sauce, vs the clam
Spaghetti, also apparently with Neapolitan sauce… spot the difference? Yes, that’s
right – no sauce! What a disgrace.
On the wine side – there were 2 white and 2 red’s. And you
could have a glass for only a mere R60-R70, half the price of the bottle. I
wish I could convey my tone of sarcasm on paper. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe
you should have at least some variety in price categories – house wine, the
medium priced bottles, and then your extravagant priced wines, no?
The Ugly – Attitude.
If you are unable to provide good food, and good service, at
least be able to take some feedback to try and better yourself. As a service
provider in the restaurant business, which is driven by word of mouth and
returning clientele, telling a table of 5 patrons (which is more than half of
your customer for that evening) “ this is my restaurant, feel free not to come
back”, after having a not so inconspicuous rant about your customer’s feedback
in the middle of the restaurant with your “chef” ( and I use the word chef very
lightly here).
Bad move signora.
But rest assured, we won’t be back. Ever.
In a nut-shell, there is nothing authentic about this place,
the food is a joke and the service and arrogance a humiliation. Nothing here is
very amore. Avoid, avoid, avoid!!
Life’s too short for dry pasta and overpriced tomatoes.
(Note to self – don’t trust “Joburg’s Sweetheart” on any
restaurant reviews – she obviously has no idea about good food).
