That’s Amore, Parktown North – Nothing Amore about this place...

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 3^rd 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.

Until we eat again...

(Note to self – don’t trust “Joburg’s Sweetheart” on any restaurant reviews – she obviously has no idea about good food).

Hatunpa, Arequipa – The Humble Potato, remains very humble

As a vegetarian I was excited to the max when reading about this little nook, with only four tables – a proper little hole in the wall, which is said to serve amazing food, all based on the humble potato.
Due to the fact that the humble potato originates from Peru, and that there are said to be almost 200 varieties of this nation feeder to be found in Peru, what better way to experience the potato in all its glory at Hatunpa, where the owner speaks English fluently and (as expressed in one of the reviews I remember reading) explains the differences in the varieties of potato.

Upon our arrival, we were a little surprised to find that the only person there, who seated and served us, could not speak a word of English! As this was the only person who worked there, we assumed that this was the owner, and confusion set in due to the review of the English speaking owner who loves to explain about potatoes.
We ordered a beer with a little difficulty, and set about ready the menu, a little disappointed that we would not be getting a lecture on the humble potatoes and the hundreds of varieties…

We were busy ordering our meals, and I was trying to get an understanding of a certain thing on the menu the man of the hour walked in and came to the rescue. The English speaking owner existed after all, and he graciously offered us a taste of the unidentifiable, which I was seeking an understanding for when he walked in. This turned out to be purple or black corn juice. Not bad I have to say, but rather sweet – a good alternative for someone that likes Coke or Inka Cola.

 

Unfortunately there was absolutely no explanation regarding the varieties of potatoes or the origin at all. Even after prodding and asking questions such as “we’ve heard that there are up to 200 varieties of potatoes in Peru?!” we only got a “yes, there are many kinds of potatoes and sweet potatoes”.

Service is average best, and I have to say that my idea of a heart-warming potato dish was not what I imagined at all. A plate of cold sliced potato, one regular, and one sweet potato, topped with cubes of tomato and hard little blocks of cheese and what seemed like an entire raw sliced onion. Not quite the oozing melting dish I was expecting at all. This has to be one of my worst vegetarian meals ever.
The other two had better luck, with a chicken and spinach topping with a creamy cheese sauce, and meat cubes with red pepper and onions – unfortunately almost no sauce on this one either.

A casual little corner, with lots of competition.
As far as vegetarian and vegan dishes go – I would avoid this unless you prefer a plate of dry potato and bland flavours.

Definately does not deserve it's number 2 spot on the list of best restaurants in Arequipa.

 

Happy Wednesday to all,

Until we eat again...

Le Soleil, Cuzco - The Fast-food of French cuisine

Aha, finally the time has come – and my fist restaurant is a bit of a shame, which after the owner’s petty comments and bad attitude on tripadvisor, has now turned into a big name and shame!

 

Whenever travelling I always have a look at restaurants on tripadvisor to see real-time opinions and reviews from “real-people”.

This French restaurant in the heart of Cuzco is rated as the number 1 in all of Cuzco – with many people raving about the interior of the restaurant, and claiming that you will struggle to find better French food, even in Paris! Now that is a bold statement to make.

To me this sounded like heaven! I love proper French food, and after traveling for between 24-18 hours, what could be more satisfying than a little bit of lush French cuisine?

 

This massive expectations we walked down the cobblestone street to Le Soleil. We were the only customers there, but thought perhaps we were early and this might be a pro, as it is not packed yet our food would be served a little quicker – we were starving.

 

The host and owner was very friendly and was happy to answer any questions about the menu, which looked rather yummy. And lucky me there was a veggie starter and main.

For starters we had the ginger pumpkin crème with truffle – this was really nice, nothing spectacular and no sign of the promised truffle, but a warming ginger flavour. Snails in butter and herb sauce – which was just that, nothing more, nothing less (presentation was lacking though). And the Avo Swilrs, this is avocado strips rolled and filled with cubed veggies such as tomato, cucumber and aubergine – a little bland, and actually a pretty presented four ingredient salad.

 

Mains were duck breast and I had ratatouille. The duck was nicely cooked, but no lush sauce or veggies to compliment this; and my ratatouille was pretty much a warm version of my starter, substituting the cucumber for baby marrow, and the avo for carrot.

 

Now maybe it’s just me, but I am 100% certain that it’s not, no-one goes to a restaurant and orders a main and expects just a chunk of protein, or a scoop of a cooked vegetables (and this comment is not only regarding Le Soleil – but I might as well rant about it now and get it over with).

Where is the harm in putting a portion of side veggies, salad, potato, sauce on a plate?? That’s right – no harm, in fact only goodness. You are ordering a meal after all. I see this “trend” sticking out it’s ugly little head in all the more restaurants, and frankly I think it’s ridiculous! Stop squeezing the money for your well-paying clients greedy restaurateurs! Tisk tisk tisk!

 

Anyway, back to our evening at Le Soleil. For dessert we had the chocolate fondant as someone on mention this to be the best fondant they’ve ever eaten; and the mango, tonka bean and passion fruit mousse – the passion fruit was super sour, you could taste nothing else, and also did not want to take a second bite for fear of burning a hole in your aorta with the sour acid ( a little dramatic, I know), surely the chef should taste what he puts on a plate? Unfortunately the fondant, which was supposed to be the king of the evening turned out to be a peasant in disguise. No rich chocolate lava flowing out when cutting open… An overcooked fondant for any restaurant is a no-no, and especially for a French restaurant, this is the mother of all no-no’s.

 

So all in all it was not the worst meal I’ve ever had, but most certainly not the best. There is not one thing that we ate that was exceptional or even great. I think due to the fact that this place received such amazing reviews it was an ever bigger disappointment, as we arrived with huge expectations.

In all honesty, the people that commented on that you could not find better French food, even in Paris – I’m having a sneaky feeling that they’ve probably never been to Paris, and the rest of the raving reviews might well be the owner himself, or his close friends… as we were the only table there for the evening. Does this sound like the kind of place that is the best in a city? Empty during the festive season? No, it does not.

 

Do not be fooled, give this a miss when in Cuzco.

 

Until we eat again…

And so ladies and gentlemen, friends, family and fellow foodies – the day has finally arrived!!
The last working day of 2013! Happy happy days!

Also it is the infamous Friday the 13^th – but not even this can get me down.

Early tomorrow morn’, before the break of dawn I’ll be on my way to the airport, en route to Peru.

I cannot contain my excitement anymore, I want to run wild and explore!!

I will hug any Llama I see, and eat all the delicious and unknown vegetarian delights that they have to offer.

No restaurant reviews today, and for the next couple of days, but I’ll be sure to post some review on Peruvian restaurants soon.

‘Tis this season of giving, and I would not dare leave you with nothing, so below are some of my favourite Llama clips, and helpful hints on how to be a great explorer, none of which have anything to do with food unfortunately…

 

The Llama Song

Llamas with hats

 

I wish you all happy holidays,

 

Until we eat again (in Peru)...