Amadeus roughly translates to 'Love of God', and this restaurant tries to bring this love to us through food. Coming from the same management as Joss, Umame and Café At The NCPA, Amadeus tries to provide some really posh food. However on this path to become an elite place, it seems to have lost itself. Because after all the insignificant regality, the tried and tested food, and its incredulous price tag, you still don't seem to leave this place too content. Why? I reiterate, Amadeus has strayed from its path.
Service: It started off well, but after a while it become intrusive and an unpleasant presence. We had to deal with 3 different workers to get to our reserved table, then a waiter who'd constantly ask us if everything were alright. We get that you care, but a little privacy could go a long way. Had this not been enough, the waiter begun his obligatory PR of the Restaurant Special - Wasabi Beef Steak. Why is he telling me that when I want dessert? It's not the fault of the waiters, they're just told to do the wrong stuff by the management.
Ambience & Décor: There's little to complain here. From the moment you see through the doors, you automatically assume your best character hoping to maintain the standard that such a place expects. It's sheer elegance personified. If Amadeus were a person, it'd have a high Standard of Living. Just look at some of the photos, they don't lie. Additionally, there's a great degree of comfort that you experience.
Food: We kept it simple. Firstly, the complimentary bread basket was delicious. The butters, breads, and the seasoning. Magnificent. Almost made me reconsider my menu.
CREAMED CHICKEN AND PISTACHIO BROTH.
Firstly, the broth, wasn't one. It was very much, a soup. Apart from that minor technically, it was amazing. I was blown away. The creaminess made the soup just flow down my throat. The pistachio flavour was perfect, neither too little nor too much. The chicken, was thankfully, not shredded. It was just about perfect. And that slice of toast? Heavenly.
COCA (Spanish flatbread) SPICED PIRI PIRI CHICKEN WITH RED ONION And MUSHROOMS. Normally, Spanish flatbread(Coca) has a crisp and hard base. They kind of had it right, not completely authentic but not bad either. There was an overload of cheese, that's for sure. I was left gassy for a couple of days due to that. The chicken was cooked well, as were the mushrooms. But this was greasy. It had much going on. Should've been a simpler dish.
COSTILLAS DE CERDO (pork ribs) HOUSE SMOKED IN ARGENTINE CHIMICHURRI GLAZE. Firstly, the chops were cooked brilliantly, I could take the meat off the bone in one swift motion. Maybe a little overcooked according to European standards. The smoked flavour wasn't very noticeable. However the pork taste was great. Now for the Chimichurri, it was horrible. It was probably made with yogurt. It's meant to be like a Pesto made from Parsley instead of Basil. It was bad. But the sauce on the ribs were delicious, so it wasn't a complete waste.
AMADEUS V8 CAKE. Basically a slice of an 8 layered cake. It was good, I got a white chocolate layer, raspberry, cream cheese/mascarpone and then 4 layers of identical chocolate. What's the meaning of that? Is it still considered 8 layers or just 5? Could've at least had different kinds of chocolate. And what's with the hard lady finger on a soft cake? Couldn't use my fork on that. The thread-like toffee was delicious. But I expected better.
All of the dishes here(other than the soup), were questionable. They lacked the simplicity that Continental food often prescribes(ironically the dessert ought to have been more complex). It was a large dissatisfaction. Amadeus seeks to throw off its impressionable patrons through its unimportant gimmicks while serving allegedly authentic food from Spain. But some of my friends still praise this place, and I'm a fan of its other brands, so I'm left to conclude that I ordered the wrong dishes(not that there should be any), but I could've ordered better ones.
I doubt I'll return here, especially after such a high price paid, sadly for brutal mediocrity. But if I do return, I'll ask these friends of mine, what their recommendations are. Until then, I don't recommend it.
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