Honvie

Review of Abate' Italian Seafood restaur...

Our initial dinner venue was fully booked and we d...

Our initial dinner venue was fully booked and we didn't make any reservations thinking it was just another Thursday... We came to realize that it was a painful mistake indeed.

And so we walked around the neighbourhood looking for an alternative, and came across this Italian cafe with several photos of food and ratings pasted all over the front and on the menu stand. We peered in - couple of tables taken, pretty nice decor, albeit bright, and decent price points - why not, we concluded and made our way in.

The service crew was nice, asked if it was our 1st time there and so forth. Seating was up to us and so we chose the big wooden table and sat at the corner. We were told to make our orders where the sign "order and pay here" hangs. Menu was pretty extensive and one can choose how one desires their choice of pasta is made. Pizza wasn't available as yet we were told. Prices were NET and that is why there's barely any table service. So our Linguine Aglio Olio with prawns came to $18.80, a pork chop dish $18.80 and a fried calamari $8.80 with a bottle of prosecco at $42.80 totaling $89.20. Not that bad for 2 for dinner with a bottle of champ... And so we thought. Only cash or Nets for payment is accepted . And yes, the ordering area can be a little tight considering it is also the utensils area and the pickup food area...

Shortly after, the bottle was served to us and it was already opened before it arrived at our table. And it wasn't a prosecco but a Moscato. The staff was nice enough to change out when we told him it was wrong. Everything was collected back. Thereafter I heard a pop at the kitchen area and again he served us an opened bottle. Oh well. No expectations... The prosecco was cold, but not cold enough. No ice bucket to hold but hey, at least they provided flutes.

And after a reasonably short while, the buzzer vibrated which meant the food was ready. I took a plate with each hand and the staff was kind enough to bring the remaining plate to my table. Remember this place has no service charge so he has already gone above and beyond his duty. Thank you for the service. The plates looked old school and are metal, not chinaware. Not exactly picture worthy type...

$18.80 is not exactly value nor expensive but the food quality unfortunately made the price points exorbitant. 4 glass prawns. Some with tail shells and 2 without. Soaked in what we hoped was olive oil and not xxx oil. The thin pork chops (2) were tenderized so it gave a very retro feel to the taste. Salad was a tad old. Lastly the calamari... Oh dear... They should learn from the Taiwanese street food vendors how it's made...

Anyway, the photo attached shows the aftermath of this $90 meal. Why I gave 2 stars instead of 1? Mainly for the particular service staff and that some hope remains that it may yet survive at least 1 year in this cut throat business, if they fine tune their operations and quality.