Within the cobble-stoned colonial district of Paraty, Quintal das Letras stands out for its…read moreimmaculate and stylish design. It looks and feels quite upscale, so much so that I was leery of entering, as dressed down as I was. But the place was fairly empty upon my visit and I reasoned that my money was good there and, of course, I was right.
Amid the intermittent rain - 47 days and counting - my son and I sat outside on a long, narrow, covered patio with a large open view right into the restaurant and, on the other side, a slatted, dark wood fence that we could not quite see through. Whatever sat on the other side looked intriguingly upscale. We could only imagine.
Even the menu here conveys a very high-end feeling. It looked like the menu of a fancy place back in San Francisco. Eating more to close out our day than due strictly to hunger we focused solely on appetizers and were first rewarded with a gift from the kitchen: a subtly flavored warm, thick, eggplant soup. It set the stage well for our first course star of the evening: Ceviche. This dish arrived with a gorgeous presentation and set the stage for what we hoped would be an incredible follow-up. It was artful, fancy, subtle, delicious.
Next up was a two-item appetizer of delicate tastes. In one bowl was a mix of sauteed mushrooms, in the other, perfectly prepared calamari. The flavors were light and elegant. It was apparent that whoever prepared this food was allowing it to speak for itself rather than imposing their will upon it.
Our waiter, who spoke good English and seemed on top of things let our meal slide a bit from there. He became engaged in conversation with diners sitting near us and, while he did, another worker stood nearby waiting to deliver him our next appetizer. This, a frisée arrangement topped with a soft-cooked egg, allowed time for the egg yolk to cook and the presentation (and flavor) of the dish was compromised by the time it arrived on our table.
The finale, a giant offering of pork belly closed out the meal which had began so brilliantly, on a sour note. Simply put, we could not cut through the dish with the utensils provided. We'd been busy trying to saw through it for a while when we caught our waiter's attention and sought his help. His solution, to give us a different utensil and recommend we cut in a different direction, did little to help. The kitchen needs to rethink (and probably pre-cut) this dish.
The meal showed much promise but didn't inspire in me a desire to give them a second chance. At the end, however, after a very long day, our waiter summoned a cab then, with pride, walked us through the area we were partially viewing through those wooden slats. I'd thought the ceviche was the star of the evening but here was the real star: The restaurant is part of Pousada Literaria, the most elegant inn in all of Paraty. The pool, at night, with a wooden deck overlook, the lighting... this place is simply stunning.
Were I ever to get the opportunity to stay at Paraty's Pousada Literaria I would, most certainly, give the delicately flavored foods of Quintal das Letras another try.
Other stuff:
* This restaurant gets high marks on Tripadvisor.
* Cost of each appetizers ran about $10 US apiece, tax and tip included. So even though it looks like a fancy San Francisco restaurant those totally reasonable prices tell another story entirely.
