Al Firenze
Where: 21 Ray Paul Drive, La Lucia
Open: Daily 11.30am to 2.30pm and 5.30pm to 9.30pm
Call: 031 572 5559
For Sunday lunch, it’s packed. You couldn’t shoehorn another table into this popular Italian eatery. It would have been better if Al Firenze could have shoehorned in some more waiting staff.
We waited for drinks, which eventually came in dribs and drabs. Nothing affects the conviviality at a table than when you’re parched. Somehow a wait for food seems less onerous when you’re properly oiled. And then there was the noise: you had to sort of shout down the table to have a conversation. All a little jarring for a relaxed get-together of friends.
When the gin and tonics were finally in hand, we decided to make the most of it. We were sure the food wouldn’t disappoint.
Starters can include the likes of prawn tails or snails, done in either garlic butter or Gorgonzola. There’s prawn rissoles, porcini mushrooms sautéed with onions and garlic, mussels with white wine garlic and herbs or calamari with garlic and lemon.
We passed a selection of starters around the table. The crisp focaccia (R62) ‒ one with garlic and one without because one of our party was allergic (strange I know) ‒ were good, as were the brinjal slices (R115), roasted in the pizza oven with chilli and olive oil. It’s a dish for which Al Firenze is famed. I enjoyed the artichokes baked in the pizza oven, with garlic and Parmesan (R92) and served with bread rounds to mop up that lovely butter.
But the mushroom risotto (R85) was odd. Made with yellow rice it looked so wrong, as if someone had dumped a tablespoon of savoury rice on the plate, the sort that might accompany a seafood platter. While it did have the texture of a risotto, surprisingly, it was insufferably bland.
For mains, seafood is something of a speciality here. I asked about their line fish special, cooked in the pizza oven with a simple garlic sauce and roasted veg. But something made me ask the price, and at R300 and something, I thought it was expensive.
Steaks, lamb cutlets and a good baby chicken peri-peri are all available, along with a selection of pizzas and pastas. Most of our party had the veal (R200) ‒ two with lemon sauce and two the veal piccata flavoured with peppers. All were most enjoyable. A special of a lamb shank (R300) went down well, while the tricolore pizza (R145) and the spaghetti puttanesca were tasty and everything you would expect.
As we waited for the table to be cleared, we contemplated desserts. There’s not much that’s Earth-shattering here: cheesecake, Italian kisses (I do wish these would fall into the dustbin of history), crème caramel and a chocolate mousse slice. I enjoyed the tiramisu (R70) which was light and not overly sweet. I’d had enough of the din by then, so I skipped coffee, although the restaurant serves a good one.
Food: 3½
Service: 2½
Ambience: 3
The Bill: R2 553 for seven. I thought the R80 corkage charge for a bottle of non-alcoholic wine the restaurant doesn’t stock was rude.
The Independent on Saturday