Sunday, 11 November 2012

La Cocino de Dona Luz

Date: November 10, 2012
Location: 807 St Clair Ave W (east of Oakwood Ave), midtown Toronto
Website: N/A (not in service)
Cuisine: Peruvian
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I had purchased a voucher from one of those flash-buy sites for this restaurant. I decided to take my parents here since none of us had ever tried Peruvian food. I called ahead to make sure this would be okay, which we were told it was, so long as the third person orders. 

I paid $34 for the voucher, which entitles the holder to a 3-course meal for two worth $72. For your reference, this is what was stated in the voucher:

One appetizer (up to a $20.95 value)
Two entrées (up to a $22.95 value each)
One dessert (a $6 value)

When we arrived, we were given a 'special' menu for voucher holders. Actually, it was a limited menu compared to their regular menu, which we were not very happy about. Most of the appetizers were under $12, so I don't understand how they came up with the numbers stated in the voucher. 

Anyway, for starters, we got the Guacamole ($11) - which was nothing special - and the Seafood soup ($14) - which was my favourite that night. I was really impressed. It was creamy and the perfect consistency.




For our mains, we had the Red Tilapia ($22) and the Lamb Shoulder ($18). The tilapia was fried, and my dad loves fish and almost anything fried, so naturally, he loved that. He thought it was very soft and flaky, and while I do agree, I thought it was in dire need of some seasoning. The lamb shoulder was also bland. The best part about both entrées was the side of white beans, which actually tasted like it came straight from a can. Does that give you any idea of what this restaurant was like?? Here's a picture of the lamb, but I unfortunately forgot to snap a pic of the fish!



For the finale, there was only one option: a Custard ($6). I've never been a big fan of flans, and especially not this one, because as you can see from the pic, it wasn't very smooth and creamy as flans are supposed to be. My dad seemed to think it was all right.



All in all, while I loved the soup and the white bean side in the entrées was  not bad, we weren't very happy with the service. Not only was a 20% gratuity automatically added to our bill without us being informed (luckily, my dad had to ask our waiter something else and he so happened to ask that question), but as I had mentioned, we were given a limited menu just because we had a voucher and the numbers don't quite add up to the claimed voucher value. The purpose of offering those vouchers is to let customers sample your offerings. If you try to rip them off or to pull a fast one over them, they will know and won't be happy, nor will they return. Our waiter, a middle-aged man, was also quite stand-offish. An elderly man who I assume was his father, was really nice and friendly, although he didn't seem to speak a word of English. So will I be back? No, but I definitely want to try more Peruvian dishes at other restaurants.

No comments:

Post a Comment