CombatCritic's TravelValue™: ristorante

CombatCritic™ ... World traveler - 42 countries and counting; Military Leader - Four combat operations; Amateur chef; Published author and producer - over 4 million visitors on seven platforms! Yelp "Black" Elite '14/'15/ '16/ '17/ '18/ '19 / '20/ '21/ '22 / '23 / '24; TripAdvisor ¨Local Guide¨, Zomato "VERIFIED CONNOISSEUR"; Booking.com "GENIUS"; and Foursquare "INSIDER". On the Front Lines in the Battle Against Mediocrity - Follow Me To TravelValue™ ... That's A Freakin' Order!

Showing posts with label ristorante. Show all posts

Monday, September 27, 2021

Rota (Cadiz), Spain: Good Chow ... Toscania, Toscana, No Matter How You Spell It, The Food Is Pretty Darn Good

Ristorante Toscania

Plaza Barroso 6

11520 Rota, Cadiz, Spain

956 846 310

hostalsixto.com

€€€€

The hostel associated with this restaurant is in the middle of the old town in an old villa with a large central courtyard with lots of plants and open air.

The restaurant is 100 meters away on the plaza which is also where we checked-in. Ristorante Italiano Tuscana has an extensive menu of antipasti, pastas, meat dishes, desserts, and a full bar. They have an indoor, air-conditioned dining room and tables outdoors on the plaza. The food was very good, the portions appropriate, and the prices fair. We ate there twice and enjoyed our meals along with their resident dog, Rocco, who was very sweet, lingering near outdoor diners, but not begging or being a nuisance at all.

The first night we had l'insalata caprese €8 and tortelli 4 formaggi ai burro e salvia €15 for my wife and the lasagna bolognese €10 for me along with a bottle of water with gas and a liter of sangria €12. My lasagna was delicious and HUGE, but my wife's tortelli had not been properly drained, watering down the rich butter and sage sauce, but my wife still enjoyed it.

On the subsequent evening, we forewent the starter, my wife ordering the tagliatelli con funghi €10, me the spaghetti carbonara, and sharing the cotoletta alla milanese €12, a bottle of water and two glasses of house red wine. All were very tasty, especially the carbonara which was prepared in the traditional way by adding egg yokes just before serving with plenty o' pepper ... HOOAH!

Our dinners, a starter, main and wine/water ran around €50, not bad for good meal for two, so Ristorante Toscania was a definite Travelvalue and worth a return visit the next time we go to Naval Air Station Rota.

CombatCritic Gives Hostal Sixto and Ristorante Toscana 8 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Eight Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: 'What-The-Fuck ... Over!'

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Xlendi, Gozo (Malta): Good Price, Poor Execution Led To Sub-Par Meals

Zafiro Ristorante

Xlendi Promenade

Xlendi, Island of Gozo, Malta

Phone: (+356) 2156 5555

Website: hotelsanandrea.com

Prices: €€€€

OK, so we paid $72 for a double seafront room with breakfast included. I should be jumping up and down, right? Well I am not and here is why ..

I found the hotel through Booking.com for $72 per night, including breakfast, at their restaurant Zafiro where we also had dinner ... the first night.

The room had a fantastic view of Xlendi Bay, a gorgeous inlet in a cute little town on the Southwest coast of Gozo, but two people could barely fit on the small balcony overlooking the bay.

We went to the restaurant, Zafiro, for dinner, €16 each (hotel guest price - €21 for others) for a fixed price menu. My wife had the vegetable soup, meatloaf, and coconut tart with vanilla ice cream. I had the spaghetti Bolognese, pan fried chicken breast with tomato sauce and melted cheese, and apple pie with vanilla ice cream. Our server, Merriam from Belgium, could not have been nicer or more attentive, she was the highlight of the meal.

My wife's pureed veggie soup was bland and what can you say about meatloaf (polpettone) other than it was meatloaf and OK. The grilled veggies and roasted potatoes accompanying our meals were pretty good and her coconut tart was tasty.

My Bolognese was lukewarm and the sauce way too sweet. My chicken had the same sweet tomato sauce on top and was also not very warm. The apple pie was decent, but not as good as most you would find stateside. At €16 ($19) a pop, I guess we could not complain too much, it was a decent deal even with all of the flaws.

Breakfast was actually pretty good with eggs over medium, English-style (undercooked) bacon, and pork and beans. They also had fresh, local bread, salami, ham and cheese as well as yogurts, cereals, and two types of cake. You had to get your own coffee out of an automatic coffee machine, but it was decent. The only drawback being some rather large eggshells in the scrambled eggs on our final day that my wife nearly choked on.

The hotel is nice for a 3-star and $73+ for a seafront room ain't a bad deal, but here is why I am deducting stars (Bombs) for Zafiro:

1. Dinner was a bargain, but was poorly done with bland, cold food.

2. Eggshells in the scrambled eggs ... unprofessional and unsavory, even dangerous

With all that being said, I can only give them a below average rating, even with the excellent prices ...

CombatCritic Gives Zafiro Ristorante 4 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Four Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Bend Over, Here It Comes Again"

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Title: Xlendi, Gozo (Malta): Good Price, Poor Execution Led To Sub-Par Meals

Key Words: Xlendi, bay, Gozo, Malta, oceanfront room, hotel, hotels, Zafiro, ristorante, San Andrea Hotel, san, Andrea, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Bugibba, Malta: A Big "Sorpresa", This Little Place Was Quite The Find

La Sorpresa

Triq it-Turisti, San Pawl il-Baħar

Bugibba, Malta

Prices: $$$$

There are three restaurants on Turisti Street in Bugibba just a stone's throw from the other - La Sorpresa, La Stalla and Ta Pawla - all with reasonably priced, three-course Set Menus, inexpensive wines, great service and excellent food.

A great find, the food at La Sorpresa was delicious, the portions hearty, and the prices very reasonable. My wife and I had multi-course dinners with wine and mineral water for about €40.

The place is charmingly simple snd the service impeccable. Our server Gabriele was there when needed, but otherwise not hovering.

I thought I needed a starter and the Cheesy Bruschetta (€3.50) sounded good, so I went for it. There were four slices of fresh, soft Maltese bread with sesame seeds topped with fresh tomatoes, herbs, olive oil, and mozzarella cheese, then broiled to a toasty consistency. It was delicious and far more food than I expected or needed.

For my entree, I had the Bragioli (€13), a Maltese dish very similar to my family's recipe but in a brown wine sauce instead of marinara, coming with wonderful roasted potatoes and salad. The two large bragioli consisted of thinly sliced beef rolled around homemade Maltese sausage and topped with the delcious sauce.

My wife's steak (€14 - Fixed Price) was also tasty, but obviously an inexpensive cut (likely hanger steak) and a tad too chewy. It came with mushroom gravy, with nary a mushroom, a starter (a delicious potato celery soup - spaghetti Bolognese also an option) as well as roasted potatoes (or fries), veggies (or salad), and choice of dessert. Even though the steak was disappointing, at just €14 how can you possibly complain. She should have ordered the Chicken Cordon Bleu.

I doubt you will find a better value in Bugibba or anywhere else on Malta for that matter. Other than the steak, I cannot find a single flaw with this family run restaurant. We left stuffed to the gills and happy as the larks we saw at the Malta Bird Park the following day.

CombatCritic Gives La Sorpressa 9 Bombs Out Of 10 With The Sole Deduction For The Slightly Tough Steak ... More Bombs Are Better!

Nine Bombs Equates To:

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Title: Buggabi, MaltaL A Big "Sorpresa", This Little Place Was Quite The Find

Key Words: Ristorante Pizzeria La Sorpresa, ristorante, pizzeria, La Sorpesa, la sorpresa, Bugibba, Malta, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, Triq, Turisti, San Pawl, il-Baħar, review, Yelp, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: OOH-RAH = "U.S. Marine Response To A Verbal Greeting Or As An Expression Of Enthusiasm"

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