The long drive through the lava fields that cover the middle of our island was punctuated with lively conversation and bursts of laughter. We eagerly anticipated a delicious dinner followed by the wonderful music of the Black Cuban All-Stars.
We were the first to be seated but the room quickly filled. Although there are two alcoves bracketing the entry, the room is configured like a dining hall with the kitchen and bar areas at the room’s far end. It was interesting how varied the age of the diners was, with multiple groups of younger people interspersed with small seatings of older patrons. As the room filled the noise level rose rapidly.
The service was very prompt and extremely attentive. The staff was impressively knowledgeable regarding the food’s preparation as well as its origin. Nearly all of the dishes were prepared primarily with locally sources products.
The wine list is both extensive and impressive. We sipped cocktails as we perused the menu and the wine list. After we had heard the special preparations for the evening and selected our dinner entrees I chose what turned out to be an excellent 2007 Littoria “The Haven” Pinot Noir. It had beautiful legs, was very smooth, and had rich berry and mild oak tastes.
For our appetizers we selected three things. First we had the springs rolls stuffed with succulent locally grown grass fed beef, placed on a bed of herbs and lightly dressed with a light sauce This tasting was quite dense and not what we expected from a spring roll type dish. The herbs were excellent but the sauce was lost in this serving.
Second we had the Ahi appetizer. It was comprised of tuna presented in three different ways. The first was encrusted katsu style. The tuna was obviously a lower grade cut but the overall taste was excellent. The second was uncooked shashimi grade cuts of tuna to be dipped in shoyu and wasabi sauce. It was like eating slices of rich butter with a little kick from the wasabi. I would place a small bit on my tongue, allow it to rest a moment, close my eyes in utter enjoyment of this most delicious of total taste and texture sensations. The third was a poke (pronounced po-kay in Hawaiian) of shaved Ahi, sauce and herbs combined to create a very nice, mouth-watering bite. Although this dish was not particularly well presented it is impossible to undermine this tasting, given that the quality if the tuna is of high grade. As you may know, the quality of the tuna is determined by the time of the year, for the best tuna is generally gathered during the winter and spring in the cooler waters.
We selected entrees of pork and lamb to broaden our tasting experience. The pork was a center cut pork chop covered with a deliciously rich hunter sauce filled with mushrooms and placed upon a bed of buttery rich herbal mashed potatoes. A small slice of pork dipped in the hunter sauce and topped with a portion of the buttery potatoes was simply an outstanding taste sensation.
The lamb cut prepared on this evening was lamb shoulder. The meat was nicely sliced and placed on a bed of herb-enhanced polenta garnished with feta and fresh vegetables. The polenta was lovely, although it was a very small portion, but the meat was not a particularly good cut. The vegetables were al dente but the overall presentation was not of the highest quality. This was certainly the low point of what had, heretofore, been an excellent culinary experience.
We finished with a cup of Kona coffee and a large portion of Fallen Chocolate Soufflé Cake, which we shared. We sat back for a few moments as we awaited the check. We decided that, given that we had eaten at this fine restaurant many times over the past 20 years, the quality of the total dining experience had noticeably declined over the past few years. The food was good but not of the quality of many of our other culinary experiences. We will return because it is the best on our island but we have come not to expect too much.
