Restaurant Review: Ca'D'oro

Restaurant Review: Ca'D'oro - February 2010

The first time you eat in a restaurant, isn’t it great if you can describe the food as excellent! And even better if you can say “I want to go back and try more dishes!”

This was the reaction we had when we went to Ca’D’oro Italian Restaurant for dinner. As the manager explained: “The menu which Ca’D’oro offers has been carefully created by our Executive Chef, especially to satisfy the individual preferences of each visitor. Our guests have told us that when they return, they always choose something different from the time before.”

It seems that many people have a particular weakness for the fried calamari (carefully fried in olive oil) with onion/caper marmalade, for antipasto, or the Carpaccio Originale alla Cipriani (paper thin slices of beef tenderloin, dressed with mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce and a few drops of lemon) which is also very special. The seafood is super fresh; the chef brings it directly from the port. And, needless to say, the pasta freshly made in-house is a luxury for connoisseurs.

So, we decided to try the following:

“Calamari fritti con marmellatina di cipolle rosse e capperi”…crunchy calamari served with with onion/caper marmalade. Now we know why so many people are in love with this dish.

“Carpaccio di mare allo zenzero”…paper thin slices of filet of yellowfin tuna and lobster, dressed with a lemon and ginger sauce. This is something you simply have to taste to believe.

“Spaghetti alla amatriciana”… "Amatriciana" means “from Amatrice", a town in central Italy from the Lazio region where this typical dish is from. The pasta is topped with bacon, extra virgin olive oil, plum tomatoes, pecorino (sheep cheese), peperoncino (chile de árbol), fresh ground black pepper and dry white wine. The adjective “delicious” doesn’t come close to describing this dish.

“Pato al limone”…crunchy duck with a simple sauce of lemon, spices, and white wine. Truly divine, right down to the bones.

“Umido del golfo al pomodorino e spezie”… Stew of mackerel, pampano, and dogfish, with a sauce of cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs, oregano and garlic. Fresh, flavorful, perfect.

To accompany the duck and the fish, the chef brought us a plate of lightly cooked vegetables, a festival of green: snow peas, asparagus, green beans and spinach.

For dessert, the chef, who works alongside the waiters as well as in the kitchen, saw that we could not decide, and told us what to order: “Tortino morbido al cioccolato e peperoncino con gelato”…a cake with character, and a heart of melted chocolate and chile de arbol, served with vanilla ice cream. OK, now I have died and gone to heaven.

Maybe next time I will try a salad…or a pizza…or a lasagne…or the ribeye with arugula and funghi porcini…or minestrone…or risotto…or lamb chops…!!!

Reservations recommended on weekends. Plaza Mayor, Prolongación Montejo x 39 y 41, Col. Emiliano Zapata Norte. Tels. 948 1133 and 948 1155. Hours: Tue.-Sat. from 1 to 5 pm and 7:30 pm to 12 am. Sun. from 1 to 5 pm. Closed Monday. www.cadoro.com.mx