Let me start on a positive note... The side order of veg was fantastic! Enough said let’s get to what’s important. And there is alot of it...
Where to begin, oh my and there is an abundance to say... firstly, putting an ‘e’ at the end of ‘restaurant, and turning into ‘ristorante’ DOES NOT make it Italian... not at all.. Secondly when you ask who the chef is and you are told about the last chef and that you currently don’t have one is even more reassuring.. Then you sit down and gander over the menu and 2 things catch your eye as being interesting, however none of which are Italian, and then get told they are the only 2 things out of stock just makes it even better...
So I have not written about a meal in a while and for good reason, I am a proud father to a little boy... so I have not eaten out in a while, so the food has been good, because I have cooked it... this does not mean there are no good restaurants around in this small town... however it is disturbing when you finally do go out and it, is a real nightmare to decide on where to go, based on the fact that in a town with more restaurants than streets, there is still nowhere really good to go to..
So we decided to eat a local tourist orientated ‘Italian’ spot down near the water. A perfect setting for our first night out without the little one. After ordering a glass of wine it was time to have a look at the food on offer. My first thought was, all meals offered with potato wedges or aromatic yellow rice. Very, very Italian i must say. After being told what we wanted was out of stock, i decided on the rib eye steak, and my wife on the veal picatta.
While waiting for the food I decided to ponder the decor of the place... Especially as they advertise themselves as an Italian Ristorante, this should assume itself to be a quaint setting... rather disappointingly there was not much pleasing about the place. Dull and dark. So dark we could barely read the menu as the lights were not even on.
The food arrived and smelled terrific. That was about all. I ordered the rib eye medium rare, it arrived near well done. My wife’s veal, as advertised said it was sautéed in lemon and white wine. Experience has taught me that veal is a delicate and subtle flavour and that the seasonings should be light and delicate. But a wagon full of lemons on a sliver of meat is unacceptable. It’s as if the veal was almost off they had to smother it with acid to hide the taste. Pleasantly our waitress offered to have a new steak cooked and a new dish ordered for my wife. We accepted and she ordered the chicken parmiggiana.
Was it any better. Not really. There is no way any chef in the world can cook a steak properly if one side is and inch thick and the other a quarter of a centimetre. And there was no sauce on it, unlike the first botched attempt, which was smothered in sauce. My wife’s chicken was tasteless and was clearly cooked with the cheapest low grade frozen chicken breasts by the bag quality foul. What’s more no parmesan on the chicken, kinda defeats the name I think. And the rib eye, not rib eye, in fact it was rump steak. Classy. Especially because rib eye steak does not have a quarter inch of fat on the outside...
Ok what’s next? The menu lets dissect that... charcoal grilled fillet of beef, what is there a braai out back that no one knows about? I have worked in many kitchens and to have charcoal burning all day would be a nightmare to the food cost, never mind a health and safety hazard to a kitchen having live fire on the go. Be real and call it a grilled fillet of beef. Then there is the option of having simply prawns.. That range from over a hundred rand to over 400 rand... that must be a hell of alot of prawns if they are simply done... but no they are not even 20... I can simply cook 24 of the same size for less than a hundred rand at home... who are you kidding?
Normally in a restaurant when you have an issue, the waitress coveys the patrons thoughts to the manager on duty and they will try and condole you with a free drink or what not to make up for the disappointment or wait or whatever the case, not in this case. There was a woman inside who looked as though she could possibly be a manager. but clearly not. She looked to frightened to take a step out the door of the kitchen the entire evening.
Ok so let’s sum this up. No management, no Italian music, no Italian ambiance, no good food, no Italian food, no Italian wine, no real Italian dishes on the menu... yet it’s an Italian Ristorante. I’m sorry I can getter a better Italian meal prepacked at Woolworths for half the price and far better.
However the service was actually good. This may be because we were the only people there when we arrived...you choose...
The Lazy Chef, Knysna
