We visited here twice, the first time was later at night to have a drink and dessert, the front of house lady who seats you seemed offended we hadn't booked but reluctantly took us to a high table at the back. Our server was friendly and our food and drink arrived promptly. As a result we decided to book a table a couple of days later in the hope we'd have a friendlier greeting!
Nope! Miserable as sin, she took the name of the reservation and walked off, came back and seated us on a table that had been shoehorned in, despite the restaurant being half full, with a wonderful view of next door's souvenir shop. It took 10 minutes for the lady to give us a menu, even though she keeps them in her hand, I also asked if the table could be cleaned as it was dirty. Another 10 minutes passed and we ordered a drink, during which time 3 other couples walked up and got seated, with a menu and their drinks arrived before we'd even ordered ours. The waiter then took the orders of several other tables before ours and that was enough for us, we paid the bill and left. The restaurant really wasn't busy and had plenty of waiting staff, there was no need to have our table where it was, too close to other tables and half the restaurant inside was empty.
The food looked absolutely fine, hence reserving a table and the restaurant itself looks lovely with tasteful music so happy to give it 1* as hopefully it was just our experience that was so poor. I'd love to go back and try the food but I feel the experience...
Read moreWell... off-season in February, we were happy to find an open place. We were immediately seated by a very nice young lady, who was extremely attentive, and made sure she got all the information right about our son's allergies. Her, I would give six stars. Unfortunately, she left her shift just after taking our orders, and the rest of the waiters obviously have only passed Stage 1 of the waiter's course.
The paella was surprisingly good, and I would rate it a strong four. But the Caesar salad? My God... Caesar salad is very simple - it is Roman lettuce, garlic croutons and shaved parmesan. And of course the Caesar dressing. Then you can add protein, like chicken. This one had a Lollo Rosso lettuce, bacon slices, tomatoes, no croutons and - NO SAUCE! When we asked where the dressing was (because the salad was absolutely tasteless) the waiter looked quizzingly at me, until he said - "a - la salsa blanca". Yes, exactly that one. I have no idea what was in the salsa blanca, but there were no anchovies (OK, Chef Cardini didn't have those in his 1924 original recipe either, but today I expect them), no capers and no coddled egg. To bad - otherwaise it was a very nice experience, but the Caesar salad really took the note down. If you can't produce a real Caesar salad - my suggestion is you at least label it "Caesar inspired salad". It doesn't mean a thing and no one can get...
Read moreMy wife and I visited this place several times during our holiday, both for cocktails and for dinner and every time it was an amazing experience.
We started our dinner with the Truffle Carpaccino sushi, and I can honestly say it’s the best sushi we’ve ever had. For mains, I had the Grilled Simmental beef sirloin while my wife enjoyed the Mexican Burger. Each dish came with fries or potatoes and fresh vegetables. To go with it, we ordered a 1-liter pitcher of white sangria, which was simply heavenly, fruity, refreshing, and dangerously good! For dessert I had the tiramisu; it was delicious, though I personally would have loved a stronger coffee flavor. Still, it was a sweet ending, and they thoughtfully brought two spoons since we were sharing.
When it comes to cocktails, the Manila Maitai is a must-try. At NEGRE they don’t hold back, the cocktails are large, beautifully served, and the food portions are generous as well.
On top of that, the service is excellent. The staff are warm and attentive, and by our second visit they already recognized us, which made us feel really welcome.
If you’re in the area, NEGRE is absolutely worth a visit, whether for cocktails, dinner, or both. Highly...
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