/ Reviews / Spanish
Gaudi’s Masterpiece
by Ruth Waldron
on Friday, December 03, 2010 12:00 AM
Named for the world-famous, Barcelona-based architect, Antoni Gaudi, Antoni Restaurant offers a gourmet extravaganza from the Iberian Peninsula, with a menu based on both a selection of tapas-style food and full à la carte options.
Tucked away in the new Expo Plaza development opposite the almost-finished Himalayas Center, it is well placed to serve the business community and local residents - a little difficult to find on the basement floor, but well worth the effort of assembling a search party.
The wide variety of dishes on the menu might be a tad mesmerizing to the uninitiated, so choose the tasting menus for a tidy introduction to the delights of Spanish cuisine; these Tapas Tours offer both hot and cold tapas, and cost either RMB158 for a more modest taster or RMB258 for a more extensive foray.
Typical favorites like Tortilla Espanola (RMB35), Patatas Bravas (RMB25) and Seafood Paella (RMB75 for a single serving) are beautifully prepared, and completely authentic in flavor and presentation. The golden and satisfying tortilla is well seasoned, and the sauce on the patatas bravas perfectly piquant, as is the crispy chorizo sausage on toast (RMB45). All the distinctly Spanish ingredients like jamon iberico and chorizo are imported directly from Spain.
Originally trained at the Peace Hotel, Chef Antoni shows a masterful hand in his cooking: everything from the creamy asparagus soup to the exquisite pan-fried fois gras in kumquat sauce (golden on the outside and melting on the inside) is presented with great care and attention to detail. Both dishes are to be featured on his upcoming five-course Christmas menu, which will offer an Iberian take on Christmas, including tuna steak with black olives and succulent turkey with raspberry sauce (RMB588 for two people, RMB298 for one person).
Food at Antoni Restaurant cannot be faulted, and the staff is friendly and efficient; but if there is one area where the experience falters, it's in the ambiance. Apart from the main wall of the restaurant, decorated with a colorful painting of the famous Sagrada Familia basilica by Gaudi, the rest of the interior is somewhat lackluster and mildly disconcerting. Nevertheless, the fabulous food should keep customers coming back for more.
The Bottom Line: Quality food should ensure Antoni develops its own "sagrada familia" of neighborhood diners.
