11.15.07
Review of Café Matisse, Bahamas Friday November 2007
Bank Lane behind Parliament Square and Supreme Court, Nassau, 242-356-7012
Great for: romantic dates, large parties, pasta tests
The Boyfriend and I were in the Bahamas for a friend’s wedding, and had a chance to try a restaurant on our own since we weren’t part of the rehearsal dinner. Jean-George’s place Dune was fully booked, and the bride and groom said Matisse is their favorite Italian on the island, so the choice was clear. We waited comfortably at the bar a few minutes for our reserved table with some fruity rum drinks.
When we sat down, we got bruschetta and a foccacia basket. I don’t eat bread, but I took a nibble of these and was really glad I did. Yum. Out of the immense pasta list, I ordered an appetizer portion of crab and leek tagliatelle, then the seafood platter; Boyfriend got the beef carpaccio and spaghetti with lobster. The starters were so good. The flavors were really subtle, which was startling at first, but then appreciated.
Our entrees were ok. The seafood wasn’t as fresh as you’d expect in a restaurant 5 minutes from the ocean. My plate was a bit overdone. I liked the seasoning a lot, though the execution as a whole seemed – careless? I wasn’t sure. It didn’t live up to the promise of our apps. I do really like that there weren’t any clams or oysters and just 1 mussel – I’m not big on the small shellfish. I wish they’d do seafood platters like that in the States.
The chocolate cake with ice cream redeemed the place in our eyes a bit, or maybe that was my Grey Goose kicking in. The service seemed a little hurried, though they were good about topping up our water. We saw a few young couples around and there were some loud hairy-chested men trying to not-so-subtly assert their alpha-ness at different tables but we had a good time. It was overall a very convivial, happy atmosphere.
Rating: 7 / 10
Noise level: the hairies were louder than the music, otherwise decent
Our cost: $130 (pretty high, considering our hotel room cost only slightly more per night)
Chance of walking in: Medium, we had no trouble getting a Friday night reservation but it was right after Hurricane Noel.
