I find it rather appalling that all “Italian” restaurants
these days are moulded from the exact same mould, like a cookie cutter. Same
interior, same menu, same music, same table clothes.
Is there no originality left? And if all these served proper
Italian food – and not a 3rd world country’s idea of Italian-style
food, I might be ok with that…however this is not the case.
After an extreme delay in going to dine at Tony’s Spaghetti Grill
in Randpark Ridge, with good reason – as mentioned above – I finally went.
Surprise surprise!! This is probably the mother of the
cookie cutter Italian restaurants. Then again, they do sort-of warn you about
this, stating on their own website that they serve al fresco style food.
The massive double volume restaurant with terraces on both
side, are filled to the max with tables. Gives me the feeling of cattle being
herded together.
Plain 3 colour (another surprise) interior; a less than
average wine list, opposing the extensive food menu and not very attentive
staff (which in all honesty is not the staff’s fault, but the doing of
management by over stocking the barn with customers).
The extensive menu ranges from pizza and pasta to salads;
anti-pasta’s to steak and seafood, pork, chicken, lamb and vegetables; and even
more tit-bits in-between. Now the
problem with menu’s like these that make your head spin, in my experience, is
basically – Jack of all trades, master of none.
It is simply not possible to have a menu of 8 pages, and be
able to produce all dishes with care and perfection.
Have a pizza and pasta menu, and make the best darn pizza
base and fresh pasta you possibly can, and be proud. Or Have a seafood
restaurant, and serve beautifully fresh bites of ocean, I don’t care how you
split them up really – but do not, ever attempt to put all that the lands
produce offers on your menu.
The salads are not bad, but stacked with ice-berg lettuce,
and very little topping. But again – not bad.
The pizza base is mediocre, yes there is a big pizza oven –
this means nothing if you do not produce a thin crust that crunches in your
mouth, and a golden, bubbly, stringy grilled cheese topping. Meat wise – well I can only say from what I
saw and what a heard from my trusty companions: average, but the mushroom sauce
that accompanied the rib-eye was as white as snow, and tasted that way too.
Look, I’m not saying it’s revolting. What I am saying is
that I simply do not understand the hype
around this place, and how they keep so busy? I can understand that if you
usually have a microwave meal for dinner, that this would be a real treat –
other than that, no, I can’t fathom why. Everything is average, nothing is
great. I would not go back to this mass producing cookie cutter Italian-STYLE
restaurant.
But apparently to the sheep of JHB with little food knowledge –
this is a gem. My personal opinion – keep to the right and pass along swiftly.
