New owner Fawzi Hamida didn’t make a song and dance about the event. Instead, as guests randomly turned up during his first couple of weeks behind the bar, he invited them to attend a special opening dinner to take place last Monday night. Four or five days out the restaurant was fully booked with the only request being for guests to dress semi-formally.
Most people rose to the occasion and it was a pleasure to see a well-dressed crowd sitting down to a special dinner which included live chamber music and a set menu full of pleasant surprises.
A fresh coat paint gave the interior a rich ruby glow complemented by claret runners over white table linen – very smart. But it was the menu that attracted attention.
First up was a dainty appetiser of autumn consommé – clear soup with curried hollandaise topped with truffle oil and accompanied by a pistachio-coated crouton. Just delicious. The curry provided a warm note and the consommé was a real change from the heavier chowders and puréed soups that often mark winter dining.
Next came an entrée of seared scallops dotted on the outer rim of the plate and surrounding a nest of roasted duck, ginger, pasta, mushrooms and shallots which was divine and very different from the usual run of entrées. Personally I could have done without the scallop bites and just gone with the duck – superb.
The main course provided a vegetarian mushroom risotto, which a neighbouring diner declared outstanding. However, most people opted for the lamb and tuna loin with saffron-infused ratatouille topped by a crispy polenta cake. Both the lamb and just-seared tuna were perfectly pink and delicate of flavour with excellent texture.
Finally, the piece de resistance, a three-part dessert consisting of zabaglione (sometimes referred to as sabayon or chantilly cream) with tuile (a dainty biscuit lace-iced with chocolate); dark chocolate Valrhona torte (rich but not sickly) and an innovative serving of roasted feijoas with a port cream.
The latter was an inspired choice, It was great to see a chef using a fruit which is so abundant at this time of the year it is often left to rot on the ground. This novel concoction had a nice bite to complement the two sweeter desserts and was a real hit.
All up we did enjoy the new take on La Mama’s. I understand this type of semi formal evening with music and set menu (and perhaps degustation with wine match too) is to become a regular event once a month with different styles of music being presented – watch out for flamenco passion.
A fresh menu will also be in place shortly and while dishes from Monday night may not be featured they are likely to pop up on a specials board – I hope so. The restaurant also plans to open for lunch and will open this Sunday for Mother’s Day.
