This restauratnt used to be known as the Tigne Brasserie for many years and was a flagship Mediterranean popular eating place both with the hotel guests and the locals. Since our visit last year, it has had a refit, new staff, and a new ethos, and has become another Italian Restaurant. In fact there are now three Italian restaurants in the Fortina complex (one over the swimming pool seems to be independent of the hotel, but seem to shelter with it). This means that the variety of cooking has contracted. There is a web entry which views the restaurant from the opposite viewpoint I had, and there is a menu which appears at the time of writing to relate to the prior existence: http://www.fortinasparesort.com/momos?l=1 It is difficult to work out what the name of the establishment is trying to tell us, as it is a common name for restaurants of different persuasions just try googling it.
We had been warned about the standard of service, and were not disappointed. Whilst the food is good, they do not seem to have their act together, and service is very slapdash and slow. For example it is a matter of chance or persistence whether the breadbasket comes your way. Our friends had indicated that the staff seemed to be dipping in and out of the restaurant with supplies as if they were swapping food with one of the other restaurants and borrowing when the orders overwhelmed them.
It is more attractive than its predecessor but all the decoration is focused on the place settings. The wall are bare, and unlike the previous somewhat overloaded overstatement of decor. One thing they have not fixed is the front door, which is a poor fit, and my advice to anyone is that the seat next to the door should always be declined because there is a perpetual draft and people tend to leave it open when they come and go.
For starter, I had a Penne with the chef's signature swordfish carbonarra.
This was quite a large serving of something I was not quite expecting. I had thought it would be like the usual versions of carbonarra sauce, but on checking, the technical definition of carbonarra is cooked with egg and parmesan, which it was. It was fine but a bit bland and was hot enough.
I then had a steak with mushrooms, and this was excellent, although the vegetable accompaniment was a bit miserable.
This was a huge hunk of meat of excellent quality and temperature. In fact the steaks were better quality than we get here in London. I asked where the meat came from, and the hotel's meat was said to come from Scotland.
In the previous incarnation, dessert had been a high spot, but they seem not interested here and offer fruit, cake or ice cream. I had the Tiramasu, which seem to have only had a short holiday from the freezer. Mod satis, but no credit to the chef.
On my second visit, I had Gnocchi with prawns and courgette
followed by another steak this time impregnated with truffle oil
Both of these were fresh, and the steak was excellent. The disappointment of the evening was the desert, and this time, from the very limited list I had the fresh fruit salad, which turned out to be a mix of pineapple and apple. It looked like leftovers and tasted that way.
Looking at other reviews of MoMo's it looks like a marmite event, and you can be lucky on some nights. The food is good, but the organisation has a lot to be desired.
Post Script March 2013
I have received an email from the Fortina indicating that MOMO's will be no more, but has been rechristened the Tigne Restaurant, and it looks as if an external operator has been brought in. Any comments or experiences would be welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment