Wednesday, May 20, 2015

It started so well

It started so well

I lament the lack of good OLD fashioned Italian restaurants in Perth… in the style of Harry Ferrante and Umberto Tinnelli… and John Salotti from La Casetta in Wembley, where you could get great antipasto and risotto that “sticks to the inside of your stomach.” La Casetta sadly doesn't open for lunch any more.


When you are hungry you eat MOST of it!!
We have tried Three Coins in Beaufort Street Mount Lawley but it wasn’t up to scratch. So, today we tried Maurizio’s at Italian Club in Fitzgerald Street, North Perth.

It started well with a 2 hour parking place immediately beside the front door… but we never imagined that we would need the 2 hours for lunch… but that is another story.

The restaurant has ambiance… very nicely set up with great table settings and a general feeling of “class.” But it was downhill from there.

The “Lunch Menu” was two courses for $45 but each dish on the menu required the server to explain what it was. Although I should recognise an Italian accent being married to an Italian for the last 40years, I struggled to understand anything our young server said. Thinking $45 was a bit steep for one dish I would have preferred [ my risotto ] 

I asked to see the Ala Carte Menu… which went from $25 a entrée BOLDLY STATING ENTRÉE’s were ENTRÉE SIZE and main courses were $45 to $70 a pop.

So I reverted to the 2 course set menu and chose a tasting plate and a Crisp pork belly. The food was average at best and the service was non-existence… and I worried that the 2 hours wasn’t enough to be served and eat my meal. Brilliant Italian bread saved me from starvation but required 4 servings as the meal took so long.

My dining partner had the fish which was dry and his vegetables, although well cooked, were COLD. And in a cost conscious lunch environment, with the addition of a couple of local reds and a bottle of sparkling water, the meal cost $140 which was about a 2 out 5 for value.

So, the search must go on for a decent old style Italian restaurant because since Harry has retired they are as scarce as hens teeth.

No comments:

Post a Comment