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| - We came across this place while waling through Vieux Port during the annual Formula 1 Street Festival. We were immediately attracted by the large paella that was cooking outside - it looked too good to pass up!
This place is a bit touristy in an area full of tourist traps, so somewhat elevated prices come with the territory here. The décor is very nice, however, and bathrooms are kept clean even when very busy. Service varies from gruff to friendly, depending on who you get (we managed to get both at the same time!), but it is professional and experienced. The wine list isn't that deep or varied, but it suffices, I guess.
We started with the chorizo and shrimp risotto - delicious! Properly cooked risotto with a perfect balance of saffron and chorizo, with some tasty grilled shrimp as well. Then we had the salmon with romesco sauce - perfectly cooked salmon with enough of the tasty sauce to mop up with the zingy mashed potatoes. I had the paella (it was the reason we came here, after all!) and it would have been fantastic if it hadn't been overcooked. Plenty of seafood - shrimp, scallops, mussels, very tasty chorizo, and chicken, all in a salty but delicious rice base, but sadly overcooked by quite a bit so all the seafood was hard. A shame, really, because it would have been so good ten minutes earlier. We finished with the bunuelos - cream puff donuts with a chocolate sauce - that were appropriately decadent and delicious.
All in all, the experience was really good. They score 4 stars out of five due to the gruff service, weak wine list, and terribly overcooked paella. But I would be willing to give them another go because everything tasted so good!
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