Tom Stephens

Review of Belcanto (Chef Jose Avillez)

Allow me to preface that this was my first 2+ Mich...

Allow me to preface that this was my first 2+ Michelin star experience, perhaps I expected something different than I should have. That said I have trained in a french kitchen and been to quite a few restaurants considered to be top tier.

The food was... Ok. I was consistently presented with experiences I had never had, but I was not consistently presented with good tasting food. Every single dish was without question cooked to perfection, however during the full 14 courses, I felt like everything was a little under seasoned.

I *loved* the new textures and experiences brought by the molecular gastronomy, however I don't think it was enough overall.

Also, my wife suffers from some admittedly annoying food allergies, but I have had many lesser restaurants handle it better. She had dishes that were honestly just bad. I know that a 2 star restaurant like this excels at perfection, but I believe they've lost their way some. In the name of a type of "perfection" I believe we got some really mediocre dishes and in the case of something made to work around food allergies, some bad food.

All around I was disappointed. I just expected more than an experience. Out of 14 courses most fell on a personal scale of 6-7 out of 10. I am disappoint.