Restaurant Reviews

Restaurant Reviews and Food Musings

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Fed up with celebrity chefs drizzling sauces over undercooked pieces of meat? I am!

I regularly dine out and am happy to share my restaurant experiences, and musings on food with you.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Rodolfino

Restaurant

Rodolfino
Stora Nygatan 1
Stockholm
Sweden

Phone 08 411 84 97

Website www.rodolfino.lunchinfo.com

Overview

Eva and I visited Rodolfino a couple of weeks ago, this used to be an old haunt of ours in Stockholm that we used to regularly visit in the 1990's.

Rodolfino is a traditional Italian restaurant in the Gamla Stan (Old Town) of Stockholm, a popular area for tourists.

Ambience

Rodolfino is a charming, cheerful and traditional Italian restaurant; tables are laid with red and white chequered cloths each with a small table lamp with the same pattern.

The restaurant, in the summer, also offers outside seating.

Menu

The menu consists of an excellent range of pasta, meat and fish dishes including; snails, lasagne, cannelloni, pizza, spaghetti carbonara, soups, steaks and seafood.

Service

The service was very friendly and efficient, indeed it was nice to see that the same owners that we knew from our previous visits all those years ago are still running the place.

We were made to feel very welcome, as we always were in the past.

Food

I began with the lasagne, which was first class. It was hot and bubbling, with just the right amount of meat and pasta complemented by a smooth bechamel sauce.

I chose the sirloin steak for my main course, this was excellent and very tender; it was very nicely cooked, and contained the right amount of fat to ensure that it was succulent and juicy.

The steak was served with a very generous bowl of thin cut fries and a bernaise sauce, which was an excellent accompaniment.

Eva eschewed a starter, and went for the spaghetti carbonara. This was superb, it consisted of a large bowl of pasta and carbonara sauce with a very generous amount of bacon. Atop of the dish was a raw egg yolk in a shell, which added extra richness. This was a very nice touch.

A truly excellent meal.

The meal, which included a bottle of Masi Serego and some coffees/liqueurs, came to 957SEK before tip.

Overall Opinion

A wonderful, friendly and cheerful restaurant which is definitely worth visiting; we will most certainly be coming back.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Paladar de Cuba

Restaurant

Paladar de Cuba
Tegnergatan 19
Stockholm
Sweden

Phone 08 21 22 52

Website www.paladar.se

Overview

Eva and I decided to try out Paladar de Cuba, a Cuban restaurant and bar, in Stockholm last week.

Paladar, in Cuba, is the colloquial Spanish name for a home-based restaurant (especially in Havana) restaurant run "off the radar" of the authorities.

Ambience

Paladar is a very welcoming and cosy establishment, a large number of wicker chairs are placed in the entrance and bar area, to the left of the bar is a good sized restaurant with cheerful wooden tables and chairs, which is well decorated with knickknacks, vegetation and curios.

In the days before the smoking ban was enforced, you could also smoke a fine Cuban cigar on the premises. Although they still have a magnificent selection of cigars in a man sized humidor, the law means that you now have to sit outside in the cold to smoke them.

However, the good news is that this ridiculous law does not apply to drinking; the Paladar has a most extensive and inviting selection of rum, which you can while away your evening with in the bar or in the restaurant.

The restaurant is very busy and popular (Che Guevara's daughter has dined there), you are advised to book.

Menu

The menu offered an excellent selection of Cuban cuisine including; peppers with cheese, crab, seafood, swordfish, steaks, lamb and young cockerel.

Service

The service was very friendly and efficient, the menu (unlike the website) was in English and the staff spoke English very well.

We were made to feel very welcome, and had a drink at the bar whilst our table was made ready for us.

Food

I began with the peppers and cheese, a most splendid starter. The red peppers (pimentos) had been roasted to perfection in olive oil (they were not out of a jar), and were served with a marinade and cheese. A really nice flavour, and medley of tastes.

Eva started with the scampi, which was served in a piquant spicy chilli and garlic white wine sauce. Absolutely superb, the scampi were plump and unctuous, and the sauce had a presence which did not overpower the scampi.

We both chose the young cockerel for our main course. This dish (per person) consisted of two large breasts of cockerel and a cockerel leg served with green rice, avocado salsa and a paprika source.

A fine main course, the cockerel was perfectly cooked and very succulent. The rice was light and fluffy, and the dish was well complemented by the sauce and salsa.

Perfect!

The meal, which included a bottle of good bottle of Spanish white and two very large rums and a rum coffee, came to an amount that I cannot remember; as in the rum fuelled haze of the evening I seem to have misplaced my bill.

Overall Opinion

A superb restaurant, which is well worth visiting.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Capri Revisited

Capri Revisited

Eva and I revisited Ristorante Capri last Thursday, and were sad to see that the menu has been changed.

Gone are the lasagne and pollo diavola, my personal favourites!

I have to say, speaking from an entirely prejudiced perspective, my saltimbocca was no way near as enjoyable as pollo diavola.

Plus ca change!

Monday, February 18, 2008

Boiled Pig's Leg

Boiled Pig's Leg

My compliments to Tennstopet in Stockholm which served myself and Eva with two excellent boiled pig's legs - Fläsklägg med Rotmos - (accompanied by mashed potatoes and mashed swede) yesterday for lunch, in their rather cosy and charming bar.

We are very happy to recommend both the main restaurant and bar for good food, good service and an excellent ambience.

Monday, February 11, 2008

More Money Than Sense

More Money Than Sense

It is a sad fact of life that there are people on this planet with more money than sense, who are prepared to pay absurd prices for wine and food.

Staff at Zafferano in Knightsbridge were needless to say salivating in anticipation, when one of their customers ordered a bottle of Petrus 1961 (modestly priced at £18K a bottle).

Needless to say, things didn't quite go according to plan when the wine was uncorked. The customer sent it back, stating that it was a fake.

Enzo Cassini, the general manager, tested it and announced it undrinkable and mouldy.

However, Zafferano had the last laugh, the customer then ordered a bottle of Mouton Rothschild 1945 for £20K.

There is no way that wine is worth such a high price, no matter where it comes from.

There must be better things to do with your money?

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

New Covent Garden Open Day

New Covent Garden Open Day

Farmers and growers from across the UK are today attending an open day, Meet-the-Supplier and Share-to-Supply conference, at New Covent Garden.

It is aimed at closing the gap between producers, farmers and growers and the wholesale market.

Local producers, wholesalers and distributors will let local chefs and buyers taste their wares. Producers will enjoy a tour around the market to see how everything works, and then present their local seasonal ingredients at "Meet-the-Supplier".

Monday, February 04, 2008

Dangerous Dumplings

Dangerous Dumplings

The recent bout of food poisoning caused by contaminated Chinese made frozen dumplings, imported into Japan, has damaged Sino Japanese relations.

A pesticide called methamidophos was found in the dumplings made by Tian Yang Food.

The Japanese government are to send a team of officials and experts to China to investigate the case.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary, Nobutaka Machimura, said that the four-member team will be dispatched to conduct on-the-spot inspection of the factory and exchange views with officials of the Chinese government.

It is not yet clear whether the food products were contaminated during the production and transportation process in China. However, small holes have been found in some of the packages.

Several hundred people throughout Japan have reported discomfort due, allegedly to having Chinese food in the last few days. However, the number of people confirmed by the Japanese government as suffering from eating the poisoned dumpling remains at 10.