Can you say disappointing? Wow. Billed as a top SP restaurant owned by a famous chef we came to try the degustation. There were just so many things that were below standard and expectation! Our 6-course degustation consisted of:
1. Grilled palm heart with nut oil and basil. Palmito had an excellent texture. A bit too oily for my liking.
2. Roasted scallop with lime creme. Delicious and well prepared. The sauce was quite buttery but tasty.
3. Cow tongue on brioche with cilantro sauce. Didn't have much going for it. Cilantro flavor was nowhere to be found. With eyes closed this felt like eating a slider (could also be seen as a compliment: buttery smooth - but then again, the cilantro)
4. Tuna encrusted in sesame, with black rice, palm heart, and teriyaki sauce. The tuna had good texture but the teriyaki was too overpowering. The black rice served on the side was seriously undercooked; inedible and unacceptable.
5. Mandioquinha gnocchi with wild boar ragout. This was delicious but the gnocchi was very cheesy. We couldn't find the taste of the cassava (mandioquinha). The boar was juicy.
6. Brigadeiro, with peanut ice cream, praline and chocolate sauce. One dimensional. Little variety in textures and all components were very sweet.
Other gripes:
- The time between dishes varied a lot; from 15 minutes to 30 seconds.
- The waiters knew little about the wine list; they showed little attention and interest during the meal; and, towards the end of the evening, during our final courses (we were among the last three tables), they sat slumped at the bar.
- One of the plates (for dish 6) had a sizable piece of porcelain chipped off.
To eat here you pay Top Real, but the overall experience was very underwhelming. Three stars for the food; reduced by one for the other stuff. We definitely won't come back here. read more