Il Portico, Bologna. Italy.

                   Vitello al Limone

This wonderful restaurant is in the perfect location; a minute walk away from Piazza Maggiore in Bologna. Il portico has both outdoor and indoor seating and being such a pleasant evening we sat outside. The restaurant itself had rustic decor and the tables and chairs were presented in the typical Italian way; which makes you fall in love with the authentic display of traditional Italian hospitality.

The food at Il Portico was more than delightful; however the service was not up to standard. The waiter who served us was incredibly arrogant, annoying and somewhat of a racist. He spoke to us as if we were mindless and unintelligent; he demanded to know our ethnic backgrounds and snarled and sniggered at our genuinely honest responses. In addition to this a couple seated a few tables away were pestered by the same gentleman; he found himself humoured by the origin of the lady sitting at the table – the couple were unamused and uncomfortable.

Despite the unpleasant waiter the food was marvellous! We had ordered Vitello al Limone; this came served with a portion of fried potatoes which were light and airy. The meat was tender and the lemon was at the right consistency and complimented the meat and potato wonderfully. Each mouthful was heavenly. I was disappointed when the meal was consumed and wanted more; not due to a small portion but because it tasted so good.  We had also ordered Polpette con pomodoro e parmigiano (Meatballs with tomato and parmesan); this was also delightful to taste. There were three generously sized meatballs which were rich in flavour but the tomato that coated the meat settled the richness into perfection.

I would highly recommend Il Portico to consumers, the food, location, appearance of this restaurant are fantastic. Unfortunately the gentleman that served us was not up to the standards that one would expect; hopefully no additional customers shall receive the same unsatisfactory service.

Advertisement

Cafe Primerose, Paris. France.

Cafe Primerose is a wonderful place to go for lunch, dinner or just for a coffee; situated a short walk away from the Eiffel Tower. Ordering tagliatelle au saumon was a superb choice. The dish consisted of both fresh salmon and smoked salmon; the combination melted in my mouth. The tagliatelle was al dente and so was not too soft or too hard. The smokiness of the smoked salmon seasoned the dish and so no further addition of salt, pepper nor cheese were necessary for this wonderful plate of flavour. Eating this dish was an absolute pleasure; it made me smile as each mouthful seemed to be more delicious as the next. Absolutely gorgeous dish!

Le Sarah Bernhardt, Paris. France

Magret de Canard – Duck Breast Pepper Sauce.

This dish may indeed be simple but it was absolutely divine. The duck was cooked just right, not over done and not too rare either. The combination of the meat with the potato melted in your mouth. The pepper sauce was not too over powering so you could taste the full flavours of the meat. Tender and delicious. Went beautifully with a glass of red.

Guadalest, Spain

El Riu is a restaurant which can be found on the way to Castell De Guadalest located in Alicante, Spain. After visiting this wonderful restaurant on numerous occasions I thought I should finally take the liberty in writing something about it. El Riu specialises in charcoal grilled meat; which is always cooked to perfection. The diversity of meat that is available is quite extensive as they offer: quails, rabbit, lamb cutlets, leg of lamb chops and even goat chops! All these types of meat alongside some others. The meat is very simply cooked, with no added condiments which allows the meat to absorb the smokiness of the charcoal and meat juices combined together. Incredibly tender and juicy!!