13-05-2010, 09:45
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*****
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Out on a limb
Posts: 180
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Gary / Ironman,
We ate at La Fortalesa last May on our last night in PP. (I tried to drag the Missus to O Lume, but she looked in from the outside and I couldn't tempt her in. A common problem with the former location, I believe).
I know there are mixed feelings here about this restaurant (Sparks are flying, so to speak!), but we found it to be very good. The Maitre D was slick, and very professional - very attentive to everybody without being overbearing or too salesman like. He obviously knows his game very well. A nice man as my wife said at the time. We (wife, son and myself) ordered mixed Tapas to start with and he actually advised us he thought we initially ordered too much without being at all patronising. Very honest of him and probably correct due to the size of the dishes. After all, he could have just whacked it on our bill. Started with Peppers de Padron (unfortunately, no hot ones during the Russian Roulette game with my son), snails with aioli, crab croquettes, squid, bread & olives and a few other dishes. All dishes were very nice and generous portions. For my main course I ordered steak medium rare and that's exactly what I got. My wife's medium steak was just that - medium. The pepper sauce had a lot of bite (it was nice and peppery, and you could taste the brandy & cream) and wasn't the bland Harvester type stuff you often get in other places (take note C'an Josep!). Steak was tender and juicy and like I said, cooked perfectly to order. Can't really remember the vegetables but I remember finishing the lot (not unusual for me) and saying to the owner's wife I could have licked the plate clean. She seemed genuinely pleased. The restaurant was full (there was a very large party of Germans, plus quite a few people who were obviously regulars), although I would describe the atmosphere as "subdued". I.e. it was not the sort of place you could easily kick back and relax, although this is as much due to the diners (most of whom seemed to be talking in whispers) as the restaurant itself. I'm not a wine buff, but the house red was perfectly acceptable to me, particularly after a couple of cold beers. My wife got more than slightly merry on a bottle of nice dry cava. I don't do desserts usually, and I can't remember if we had them or not. We were actually the last to leave at around maybe 11 o'clock and most people had left by 10 or so. All in all a nice evening. First visit so I can't really tell you if it's still as good as it was, but I would say we will definitely return here in June.
Last edited by PaulB; 13-05-2010 at 10:46.
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