RESTAURANT REVIEW |
Review of the unexpected.
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After watching a movie we decided to go for pizza at Pietro’s, a restaurant downtown I had not visited for years. This was one of the first Italian restaurants established in the city with great success towards the end of the 70’s and part of the 80’s, sometimes you even had to wait in line to enter during the high season.
We arrived by 10:15 and upon crossing the threshold, before even coming close to a table, an employee waved and gestured from the kitchen (without looking at us, although he knew we could see him clearly), trying to get tell the cashier to wave us off because it was too late to cater to us. Only a few tables were taken and the place was operational. In any case, it was an unpleasant experience, without waiting for a nervously smiling cashier’s confirmation; we turned back and headed out. During the many years I worked in restaurants, I was taught to value the significance of hospitality and courtesy, and I can definitely tell this discipline is not being exercised where a person acts in such manner. There are ways to tell a guest that the restaurant is closed (kitchens regularly close by 11pm) but no proper one was shown us then .
After this failed dining attempt and trying to think of a place that was open, I remembered that we were just a few blocks from the Vitea Oceanfront Bistro, so I suggested going there. I have several times confirmed its owners professional excellence, they also own the restaurant Trio, so I had no doubt that if we were accepted, dinner would be excellent, and, the truth is, I was very pleasantly surprised!
To begin with, the place has grown as they have opened a terrace on the boardwalk, telltale of their success. When I saw the numerous staff, I could confirm they had a good number of diners. We decided to sit on a comfortable couch [table 14] from where the view of the Malecón is the best. The waiter brought the menu asking us if we wanted something to drink. By his attitude for a moment I thought we were not totally welcome. We went through the menu —with recipes that seemed delicious— and we decided to share a “Tempura Shrimp with pumpkin seeds, hot pepper and garlic sauce” [$110.00 pesos], and a “Crab Cannelloni au gratin in green sauce, coriander and cheese” [$116.00 pesos].
The waiter came back to take our order and again I could perceive something upsetting in his attitude, like he was not too pleased to cater to us. An assistant waiter brought a basket with white bread, rye bread and ciabatte, along with toasted chile mortar sauce and a poblano pepper and cream cheese dip [and maybe cilantro?] delicious! At that moment I thought “that’s great we were rejected from the other place”. I asked Ricardo [the assistant waiter] if he knew what were the ingredients of all we were savoring, to which, with an excellent attitude and doing his best effort, he responded that he did not know much about these recipes, these and some others were prepared at Trio restaurant.
We were fascinated with our appetizers when our main course arrived and, oh surprise! Besides being a pleasant sight, everydish was simply delicious. The sauce accompanying the crunchy tempura shrimp, besides being slightly sweet & sour, has  aspicy and addictive garlic touch. The small watercress salad accompanying it creates just the right balance. On the other hand, the perfect gratin of cannelloni offered us a contrast which at times seemed as the taste of the crab would be overtaken by the combination of coriander, cheese and green sauce. It never happened. Turns out that the unexpected was much better. A recap: A comfortable place with European accents, excellent food quality, exquisite flavors, fair prices, fascinating conversation and a little detail in service.
It took me three years to visit Vitea Oceanfront Bistro, but I always knew that when I did I would not be let down. I will be back to measure its consistency.
It is worth mentioning that talking to my brother about it the following day, he mentioned going there for dinner on February 14, Valentine’s Day of last year and someone’s attitude made him feel not welcome and he decided not to stay. I told him I felt the same attitude from someone but would not let it bother me and it was worth it. I committed to invite him next time.
E-mail to a friend
• Vitea Oceanfront Bistro - European Rivera Cuisine
Libertad 2 & Malecón, Downtown - Phone: 222-8703
See you next time and God bless you all,
Jesús de Avila
E-mail: editor@pvmirror.com
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