La Vila (Revisited – April 2010)
La Vila, Soller has been known to be consistently good. The menu has been the same for as long as I know. For the fresh beginning in 2010, La Vila is opening without their former head chef, Luca Dalla Torre. After carving a reputation for himself here for the past three years, he has bravely become an entrepreneur with managing his own restaurant in the Port of Soller, due to be opened in May. Their menu proposed a change. Retained (I guess), some of their popular dishes and also incorporated a new degustacion.
We ordered two starters to share within the five of us, a main course each, two desserts to nibble, two bottle of wines and three sparkling water takes us up to nearly EURO 200.00 for the night. By far, it is the treat of the year!
Grilled regional vegetables with olive oil from Soller and smoked salt – the choice of the grilled vegetables are regional but my say so on this dish is that the rectangular plate accentuates the length of the asparagus.
Carpaccio of veal fillet with parmesan and rocket salad – This was very tasty indeed, the meat was sliced wafer-thin, and combined well with the sharpness of the parmesano.
Carpaccio of angler fish with citrus fruits from Soller and tomato vinegratte (new on menu!) – brilliant slicing skill as the fillets were as thin as one could possibly cut even with laser. The truffle, tucked beneath the heap pile watercress and rocket gave took me by alarm thinking that it was an unknown imputiry because it also tasted slightly muddy. My husband convincingly assured me that truffles were supposed to taste like this.
Loin of lamb in a crust of dried fruits and fine herbs with a rosemary sauce – If I recall correctly, compliments were given to this dish but there was no enthusiasm. Being a foodie himself and also very observant, he noticed that all the meat served on the menu was served with a fruit sauce.
Fillet of beef with raspberry sauce and seasonal vegetables and potatoes – the meat is tender.
Magret of duck with a reduction of oranges from Soller and a touch of “hierbas dulces” accompanied by caramelised apples with cinnamon (another freshie!) – our guest hinted her liking towards the ’shy’ cinnamon taste within the caramelised apples.
La Vila style hamburger – From the last time we went, Jeremy mentioned that it was probably the best hamburger that he has ever had with a good balance of spices. And the verdict this time….Unchanged!
Chocolate brownie with sze chuan pepper ice cream – our guests loved the brownie but had the opinion that the sze chuan pepper was not prominent enough to warrant it’s name.
La Vila tiramisu – What a socko dish! Balance of cheese and cream is just right. Slightly sweet but that is what desserts are supposed to be.
The angler fish and duck dishes are new in the menu. Compared to previous dining, the portions now seems smaller, slightly let down with the side dishes and the prices became more exclusive. Quite sadly, I have to say that it was not as pleasing as it used to be.
La Vila Hotel
Placa Constitucio, 14,
Soller 07100,
Spain
Tel: +34 971 63 46 41
