Ciao Italia… Buongiorno Pasquale

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Pasquale - Grand Hills, A Luxury Collection Hotel & Spa Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Se è stata una bella serata di autunno e wi … oh sorry… got caught up in the moment… so I was saying, it was a beautiful autumn evening… Our destination was Pasquale Italian restaurant within the Grand Hills Hotel in Broumana…

We received a warm welcome, friendly yet professional… then we were shown where the gathering was taking place: The inner section of the Pasquale.

Mediterranean style décor, warm lights, comfy chairs, we were immediately set in the mood for what was to come.

The atmosphere was a bit warmer than it should be inside of a restaurant, just on the border of comfortability… It should be a little cooler, especially with Italian food and wine that always tends to make you feel hot…

Nothing was left to chance though, the Zomato people know their stuff… a menu was available for each person in front of his seat… like a program for the night… the dishes described on them, however, seemed to me to be… very simple and regular, nothing uncommon, nothing unusual, nothing fancy…

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As I was sharing my thoughts with that Lebanese Memes guy (who seems to always be where I am), chef Pasquale made his entrance, presented himself and started explaining the menu… oh wait… what did he just say about the menu containing only simple items? Did you hear that Mr. Lebanese Memes guy? What did I tell you..?… What? Yes I heard that he is going to make them look special and outstanding… let’s see…

The table’s setup was very elegant and up to the occasion… The waiters, while they were good, have the potential to be much better… Don’t get me wrong, no mistakes were done, but you could feel the individual lack of confidence and automatism, I think that this can be easily fixed with more experience and training.

The festival started with the “insalatas” and the Starters… From the first “Coup d’Oeuil” I understood what Chef Pasquale meant by making simple dishes look like stars… First of all the presentations were easy to the eye, a beautiful marriage of colors… warm…  and addresses immediately the part of your brain that commands your mouth to start watering… The “Trio Di Pomodori” is the perfect example…

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The “Insalata Di Polipo” was a dream on a cloud of mashed potatoes, the combination of flavors was simply stunning…

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The “Insalata Pasquale” was a work of art that you immediately regret having eaten it so quickly, If you try it, make sure you go easy with her… she is very delicate… so fresh… so delicious.

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I couldn’t decide honestly what Pasta I liked better… The “Penne All’Arrabbiata” was un tant sois peu too strong for me, not that I dislike heat in food, au contraire, but I still think (and that’s a personal opinion) that it’s a little too strong for a Penne… absolutely delicious though.

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The star of the night for almost all people around me was the “Gnocchi a la Soarentina” and it’s true it had everything going on for it to be a Star, however, personally I think its status was easily contested by the “Spaghetti Sea Food Sauce” I still can’t forget the way the flavors blended together, truly a masterpiece… Not everybody appreciate perfection though… who..? Follow my eyes… (That Lebanese memes guy…)

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I’m never a fan of dessert, I often over eat starters and main course at the expenses of dessert, however that “Trilogia di Tiramisu” looked so inviting that I had to try… and here to my great shame, I made a mistake, a mistake that chef Pasquale could have considered as an insult after the goodness and professionalism he showed us through his “festival”: the dessert contained pistachios, and the flavor was so clear, so neat, so perfect, that I said (oh shame) I said that it had to contain artificial flavor… the Chef however, came to my table, and ever so gracefully explained to me the process used to enhance the natural flavor to that level of perfection… Chef Pasquale, I apologies.

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All I want to say to conclude my prose, is that the uniqueness of all dishes lay in only one factor: You could taste each and every fresh ingredient separately in any bite you had, while your eyes sometimes couldn’t even differentiate them in the mix of the plate… That “exploit” my friends, can only be made by a Chef, extremely professional, so passionate about his food, and probably is in the firmament of “the Michelin guide”.

Gaston Le Repu

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