Il Contadino

5 Lifestyle By Princess - 9 months ago

What an experience!!

The ambience was perfectly created, tempered and toned to suit the evening as it settled upon us.

The waiters were fabulous and catered to my retarded requests for potatoes in pasta! No one bat an eyelid at any of my modifications and in fact made it with so much love I could taste the perfection!

The food was exquisite, blending flavors so effortlessly with a slightly potent garlic after taste that said "I like food more than I like people"...and I was entirely okay with that!

The desserts needed a tiny bit of work, but in all honesty, between the services and the main course, it really didn't matter.

Definitely a must try for an intimate and romantic setting.

2 Damien de Gouveia - 5 months ago

For the price point and market positioning I was disappointed. Long stem broccoli substituted for normal broccoli, poor training given to waiters by management and lack of dietary restriction awareness.

The duck breast was basted in sauce and then charred (too much), burning the sauce and giving the dish a burnt taste. If the duck breast was first grilled and the sauce applied towards the end, it would have been perfect.

The pasta was wonderfully put together, well balanced and fresh. I don't think the walnuts were worth adding as the few I did taste had bits of shell in them but a fantastic dish.

Overall the food is good but not great. If a restaurant charges R240+ for a main and markets itself as 'quality first', my expectations are raised.

To management, you have quality ingredients and a great menu. Please invest more time in training your employees (waiters and chief). Notify patrons that ingredients are seasonal and specify ahead of time of any substitutions.

3 André Joubert - 6 months ago

We always drive past and see how cost it looks in there, always busy...

It seems like it's a little bit more of a fashion-statement though (those people want to be seen to be there...)

Service is good. We were a table of four and for the price you pay, the portions aren't what you'd expect.
I had a wild boar dish, and it hardly had any meat in it, otherwise it could have been good...

If you want value for money, I wouldn't recommend it.
We all got the impression that only their pizzas are really worth ordering.

4 ZMalle2000 - a month ago

Nice Interieur and amazing food smell. Oven and a lot of homemade food. Bad coffee though. Nice location, friendly service but a bit slow. Not a big selection of non alcoholic drinks

4 Mandar Karnik - a month ago

Food was delicious.. food comes from their own farm. Organic and fresh. We have ordered veg pizza and chicken riaviloli . Both were very delightful and tastty

5 Aviva - 11 months ago

Beautiful corner restaurant with delicious Italian food. One of my favourite spots, I keep going back.

3 Jonathan Dutton - a year ago

Impressive menu, impressive setting, impressive staff, sadly less impressive food.

The caprese was excellent: fresh, seasonal tomatoes, a smooth, sweet balsamic vinaigrette, crunchy dehydrated basil and much anticipated pulled mozzarella balls - star of the show.
The pizza: a sweet, tangy tomato sauce, actual basil leaves and a beautifully cooked crisp, bubbly crust was marred by a thick blanket of cheese - the meal we were most looking forward too, sadly fell short of our, granted very high, expectations.
The spinach and ricotta ravioli: tasty, creamy, and definitely prepared in house, though completely devoid of acclaimed truffle - trust me you know it when you taste it.
Chocolate fondant: the scarce (homemade?) ice cream was bright and dense and delicious. The fondant, less so. The molten centre floury, thick and sticky (maybe slightly overcooked).

What made the night was our water. Richard was such a gentleman: kind, witty, energetic and professional. We would come back just to be served by him again.

Not sure I would recommend. Corkage was R100 and we were glad we brought our own wine. By the glass or by the bottle would have left us empty pocketed and even more sour.

Also, cool slate plates.