Gato Loco
is part of Villa Sol Areia, a fifteen bedroom B&B with two restaurants Gato
Loco serving European cuisine and Mughal Darbar serving Muglia cuisine.
Situated
on the main Candolim Road, near Delfinos supermarket this charming looking restaurant,
with its blue and white theme makes it have a continental alfresco feel, to
accompany its European menu. The tables
were set wonderfully, and the cleanliness of the restaurant and the washrooms
was flawless.
Having had
good, authentic food at Mughal Darbar, I was thrilled when our friends
suggested we try Gato Loco.
I was so
excited to see Bouillabaisse on the menu.
Bouillabaisse has to be one of my all- time favourite dishes, I love to
eat and cook. Bouillabaisse is hearty
fish stew made up of chunks of white fish, mussels, prawns, squid and crab,
with vegetables of leeks, onions,
tomatoes, celery and potatoes all simmered together in a broth of Provençal
herbs and spices. Served with a rouille - a mayonnaise of olive oil, garlic,
saffron and cayenne pepper on grilled slices of bread to dunk into a rustic
fisherman’s stew to die for. I just had
to have it.
This is what I was expecting from the menu and
my experience of Bouillabaisse.
This is
what I got
Bouillabaisse
350 Rupees /£3.59/ €4.68/ $5.23/₽365.43
A bowl of spiced,
thick tomato soup, that was tasty, but sadly not authentic, and certainly not
the five head fish stock as stated on the menu. The hero’s, of the dish, chunks
of white fish, mussels, prawns, squid and crab, a big disappointment. The amount of fish was no more a trimming than
the main component of the dish. There
was no vegetables at all. As for the breadbasket. A slice of stale baguette and two small
slices of bread with a single potion of butter.
Fish Tikka.
This cost
500 rupees £5.28/ €6.69/$7.47/₽ 522.04 Come one!
The price
was on market price of the day, when told it was 500 rupees we imagined a fair
sized portion of fish. Asked if this came
with anything, it was then explained it came with salad and a dip. My guest wanted to order a jacket potato, that
they would pay extra for. A simple
question, a simple request, how difficult is it to add an extra jacket potato
to the meal? There seemed to be a lot of
debated, asking other waiters, and then finally going to the kitchen the wish
was granted, like we had asked for something out of the ordinary. When the meal
came to the table after my disappointment, imagine how I felt when this was
placed in front of them.
The upside
to the night was the other two guests ordered from Mughal Darbar menu.
Chicken
Afghani 280 rupees/ £2.95 / €3.75/ $4.18 /₽292.34
Instead of
the traditional tandoori paste, Afghani chicken is coated in a paste of cashew
nuts.
Four good
size pieces of chicken. In all fairness, the menu said half a chicken and that
is exactly what was on the plate. I say this because most restaurants say half chicken,
but there is no breast. As you can see here, there is plenty of breast meat.
Veg
jalfrezi 180 rupees/£1.90/ €2.41/ $2.69 / ₽187.93
A good
sized portion of marinated vegetables in oil and spices to produce a dry, thick
sauce. As the dish includes green chillies, a jalfrezi can range in heat from a
medium dish to a very hot one. Asking for a medium the jalfrezi was cooled down
by combining it with cream, to make a delicious creamy sauce.
Service
I would
like to say that the service surpassed the food, but unfortunately, when MR R
and I arrived to an empty restaurant, we stood like limpets waiting for the
waiter sitting at the bar to approach us. Eventually we had to ask him for a
table of four, which seemed to be a difficult question as he shrugged his
shoulders not sure if he had a table at all.
Our guests were about to arrive, and still we stood there, when a young
woman approached us. We said we wanted a table for four; yet again, it seemed a
problematic request, when by pure luck, a waiter who knows us from Mughal
Darbar came over and seated us without any question.
NOTE YOU
ARE CHARGED A 5% service charge.
A very disappointing - 2/5 Chilies for COCO
LOCO
I say
disappointing because as I have said before my guests and myself have been many
times to Mughal Darbar next door and had great food and service.
Address: Villa Sol Areia, Fort Aguada Road, Near Health
Centre, Candolim, Goa
For Info and
Booking call : 8326515322
Timings : All Days -- 8:00 AM - 9:00 PM
