An open letter to Bottega Café……………
Admittedly arriving 25-minutes after the requested reservation time, the waiters were more than helpful in assisting D1 and myself with a table inside the already bustling restaurant. Sitting in the “detached” extension – barbershop by day / space to squeeze in additional patrons (and allow for a smoking district) by night - we found this area to be noisy but were still able to hold a conversation with forceful voices. Tables, covered with semi-plastic/material tablecloths, are of an adequate size with candles providing the majority of light in the room. The main area next door with extended enclosed gazebo seemed to be the place to be seen and be seated. Once we had acquainted ourselves with our immediate surroundings, it was still some time before we were given attention to request a wine menu and place our orders. Our designated waiter brought the large chalkboard displaying around twenty handwritten dishes to us so we could make our choices. Being vegetarian, I requested something without meat or fish in it, and was immediately assisted by a passing waiter (not our own) who recommended a pasta dish – a favourite amongst their patrons.
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Cheers! A glass of chilled Wolftrap
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Foregoing starters and soothing our slightly dampened spirits, D1 and I sipped on a bottle of Wolftrap whilst waiting for our mains to be served – D1 opting for the fillet topped with porcini mushrooms done in a cream reduced brandy and Dijon mustard sauce served wih a side of seasonal vegetables and myself, the avo and rocket pasta. Being unable to start eating, we needed to grab the attention of a waiter to request cutlery – once for knives and forks and once for a spoon to eat the pasta. The Italian dish arrived looking scrumptious: spaghetti drenched in a creamy Napolitano sauce and generous amounts of avo chunks and rocket (slightly wilted). However, a few bites in and I had to continuously flavour my meal by adding salt, pepper and parmesan. Asking D1 how his meat dish was, I received a very uninspired response of “ok”, again with the dish looking convincingly pleasing to the eye yet doing nothing for the tastebuds.
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A deluge of mushrooms and a handful of rocket were not enough to disguise these dishes
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Moving onto the desserts to round up the night, I ordered a slice of chocolate cheesecake with D1 ordering a slice of pear and almond tart. These being accompanied by our usual cappuccino’s. The coffee was okay – no complaints, the cheesecake despairingly worse with no “zing” to it. But the pear and almond tart…………………a KNOCKOUT! Finally I had found a reason to be pleased with this so called “established” eatery. The tart was fresh with a crunchy base and the gastronomical symmetry between the slightly sharp taste of the pear offset against the woody almonds and the sticky burnt sugar topping was enough to send me into a frenzy. Every last crumb was devoured which is more than I can say for the half-eaten cheesecake.
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7 out of 10 for the coffee and a dismal 3 out of 10 for the cake
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Unfortunately that one silver lining in the form of a good dessert was not enough to rescue the entire evening filled with incompetence and a lack of awareness from our waiter (who, by the way, couldn’t remember our orders and had to come back to reconfirm with us – not once, but on two occasions) in what I understand is a busy restaurant. Save that, the high prices should be comparable to the quality of food being served. My unavoidable conclusion is that I would only go back for coffee and a slice of the blissful tart. As far as a full course meal is concerned, I wouldn’t risk it.
Unfortunately that one silver lining in the form of a good dessert was not enough to rescue the entire evening filled with incompetence and a lack of awareness from our waiter (who, by the way, couldn’t remember our orders and had to come back to reconfirm with us – not once, but on two occasions) in what I understand is a busy restaurant. Save that, the high prices should be comparable to the quality of food being served. My unavoidable conclusion is that I would only go back for coffee and a slice of the blissful tart. As far as a full course meal is concerned, I wouldn’t risk it.
