La Tartaruga - A Review (August 2008)

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Paul Stenning

La Tartaruga - A Review (August 2008)

Post by Paul Stenning »

During our recent holiday in Tobago, we decided, having read numerous positive and, some would say, "glowing" reviews, to give La Tartaruga a try.

Before I start, I wish to clarify that because we had only just arrived in Tobago and my kids (not to mention my wife & sister-in-law) were still adjusting to the time difference, we opted to collect a takeaway from the restaurant, having phoned ahead to confirm that this would be possible.

We ordered pretty basic stuff - gnocchi, pasta pomodoro, pasta bolognese and a couple of pizzas - nothing complicated.

My brother-in-law and I arrived to collect the food and whilst waiting we enjoyed a beer and chat with the owner, including a tour of his extensive wine cellar and a couple of grappa tastings (which we paid for).

All was looking good and we were impressed with the ambiance of the place and the geniality of the host. Having read the reviews, we therefore had high hopes for the food and left for our villa in eager anticipation!

Disappointment would be an understatement.

The pasta and gnocchi were fine (but lets face it you can't really get that wrong!) but the pizzas were extremely disappointing - I have eaten real Italian pizza in Napoli and surrounding areas (widely regared as the birthplace of pizza, after Queen Margherita, I believe) and what we had from La Tartaruga was most definitely NOT "the most authentic italian food outside of Rome" or whatever they say on their flyers...

I think the food was vastly overpriced for what it was and, frankly, the pizza was little more than something akin to bruschetta with the meanest amount of topping you could imagine. To be honest, the pizzas from Pizza Express are much more authentic! (and twice the size!)

I was prepared to allow for the fact that we may have been "downgraded" for ordering take-out, but having seen what was being dished up to diners in the restaurant, I know the pizzas were identical, as I now realise I had made the mistake of assuming what I thought I saw people eating as a starter was in fact the pizza!!!

Maybe we got them on a bad night? In any event, we opted not to go back and enjoyed some excellent meals elsewhere for the rest of our holiday, including Seahorse Inn, Meshells, Mot Mot and Shirvan Waterwheel.
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