=====113th REVIEW=====
A good steakhouse is hard to come by in Kent, but thankfully I was able to find this place on Tripadvisor. It was somewhat highly rated, so I took a train for half an hour across the countryside to come have lunch here. It's a short walk from the Broadstairs rail station operated by southeastern. Paolo's Kitchen is very close to the seaside, to Viking Bay, overlooking the English Channel. I could almost smell the croissants.
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There is a copy of the menu hanging down from clothespins in a clothesline in the window. The paper was all curled and stuff from the heat, not too attractive and difficult to read. There was an advertisement for the Paolo's Kitchen Challenge, that's where you eat two burgers, chips, a drink or something and just a whole bunch of food in 20 minutes only. The cost if you lose? £25, the price of the meal. If you win? You get a special t-shirt and the meal is free. Wow. The server told me that only 70 something people have ever successfully completed the challenge.
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A curious observation on the menu - there was a California burger with guacamole, sour cream, salsa or something, and that was funny because obviously I've been there, and those are Mexican ingredients, not so much Californian. I asked Alex, the server, and he told me that it was due to the "colorful nature" of California and the "sunshine" there. Fair enough.
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I sat down and ordered the bruschetta and the fillet steak with no sauce. The server was very attentive, and kept winking at me. Not sure if that's just trying to be nice, or he has an eye problem.
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"Bruschetta" - £3.90
(with vine tomatoes on French bread)
Bruschetta came up. It was well presented, and the French bread did taste fresh and not overly crunchy or crumby. Tomatoes did taste slightly old, and had lost their rigidness. Seasoning was fine, with light touches of olive oil and salt and pepper.
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"Fillet Steak" - £19.50
(10 oz. with no sauce)
The fillet steak was the next item, and it was presented on a large cutting board with the steak, chips to the right, and a small bowl of salad. Forget the salad, it didn't look too appetizing at all. I ordered the fillet steak medium-rare, but upon using my knife to push the top of the steak, it was definitely raw. Just to make sure, I sliced the steak open with my knife, and it was cold in the center. 80° F maximum in there. I had Alex heat up the steak to the right temperature. It came back burnt on the outside, but whatever.
The chips were definitely old and not made within the hour; they were not fresh or hot when served. The skins were still on them, which I honestly don't get why any restaurant would do that to hand cut chips. If I were to suggest a change in salad, I would suggest a simple chicken caesar salad on the side, it would go much further than a salad with soggy leaves, two halves of a tomato, and bell peppers.
The steak was definitely in need of seasoning. All it tasted of was olive oil, could've used some peppercorns or salt on it. There were also parts of the steak that were very sinewy, and I had to spit out some parts because it was just impossible to chew. On a fillet steak that costs £19.50, I would've expected a better cut of meat for my money.
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The check came and I got a free mint cream chocolate to go with that. A nice touch. I was happy with the service (by the way there's WiFi, you have to get the password from the server), but not happy with the cooking.
Serving meat raw is a novice mistake, and it's not like I ordered a rare steak, then we might have room for discussion about mistaking a raw steak for a rare steak. A simple touch test could have easily shown that the meat was still dark pink and cold in the center/centre.
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Overall, not a bad meal, I do miss a good NY strip steak, but that'll be my next meal. I might try a burger too after this, at least you can't make those raw.
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