L'Aup - Tuesday 12 August 2008
If there’s one thing I’ve finally realised about eating out at different restaurants (and I don’t just mean Mallorcan ones) is that you should cast aside all expectations of how your evening is going to turn out. It really is best to go with an open mind…
L’Aup has always been one of our favourite restaurants and it helped that our villa was very close, just two minutes drive away. I’d heard on the forum that it had changed hands so we were looking forward to seeing how different it was and how it would compare with the old L’Aup that we’d come to know and love.
Thwarted in our dream to eat there on our first night, I had booked a table for Tuesday night and was shocked to see it so busy again; there was hardly a space in the dusty car park and yet more cars were still arriving!
We were met by the Maitre d’ who still looked harassed, and I wondered whether he actually liked his job or not. I couldn’t help comparing him to the old head waiter who was always so friendly and laid back. Menus were handed to us and a basket of bread and olives plonked down on the table. My son announced he wanted spaghetti, and then ran off to play, but when we opened the menus we couldn’t see any children’s dishes at all. The menu is quite short - about 6 or 7 starters, 3-4 fish dishes and 5-6 meat dishes, including fillet and entrecote steak. Normally we’d find the bread and pate sufficient as a starter, but things had changed here and we received just a basket of dry bread and a limp huddle of olives.
Things went downhill when hubby’s beer was forgotten, and he sat trying to catch a waiter’s eye for, what seemed like to him, an age. I had ordered a glass of the house white, a delicious medium wine from Yecla so I was more than happy. Despite it being now almost 9pm it was as hot as the furnaces of hell and everyone around us seemed to be melting into their own little pool of perspiration. Peace was restored when hubby's drink arrived with a curt apology from the head waiter.
Hubby and I had chosen our meals, but we asked about the children and were reassured that they could do spaghetti and plain chicken breast with chips for my daughter. We skipped starters and hubby opted for the suckling pig, while I chose the chicken breast stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes and sobrasada.
In a way, it was reassuring that the menu had changed completely because to me that signalled that the dishes were freshly prepared, and indeed, delicious smells seemed to be wafting all around us as the place filled up with large tables of people enjoying themselves. L’Aup really is a very pretty place - the outside courtyard filled with trees and bougainvillaea and old farm equipment.
When the food arrived I have to say it was sublime… my chicken was moist and tender and perfectly cooked - served in little rounds on a bed of pureed mash with an accompaniment of ratatouille. Hubby’s suckling pig was also pronounced delicious, the crackling nice and crispy as he likes it, but he said that he would have liked a few more vegetables on his plate. The children’s dishes were equally good and at the end of the meal, we all had clean plates.
Having skipped starters we fancied dessert and I opted for the selection of all the desserts on the menu while hubby went for the gingerbread and blackcurrant coulis served with vanilla ice cream. The children were delighted with their chocolate ice cream. Again, the desserts didn’t disappoint and I’m of the opinion that whoever does the cooking certainly knows what they are doing!
So how did it compare? In my opinion, the food was just as good, if not better than the old L’Aup, with a much more streamlined menu. The service was very quick and attentive but without the friendliness we’d come to expect which was a shame. It would have been nice for the Maitre d’ to have come over and made sure we were happy with our meal, but perhaps the awesome heat and the fact that the restaurant was very busy prevented him from doing that. But, never fear, we will be back!
The bill came to 103 euros. Booking is definitely advisable and you may have to ask for dishes to suit children.
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