Amaya

Amaya is sort of a wine bar / gastro-pub approach serving Tellez’s trademark cuisine in a smaller and more casual venue. The décor is pleasing. It’s that popular loft-like design, with bare brick walls. However, one wall bore a huge piece of art that made the otherwise stark décor a bit more warm and interesting. In short, the ambiance was ideal for this type of casual restaurant.

I was dining alone on the day I visited Amaya for dinner. I had made reservations for one, and due to this fact, on arrival, was not offered a table. Only a place at the bar. Considering the limited number of tables and the growing popularity of the restaurant, I suppose the policy of sitting single diners at the bar is understandable. However, I think it would be appropriate to inform diners of the potential of being seated at the bar at the time a reservation is made.

The bartender, serving the dual role of mixing cocktails for the entire restaurant and serving as my waiter and the waiter for another couple sitting at the bar, did a better than adequate job. He was friendly and efficient. Any questions he could not answer were readily answered by the maître d’.

To start the meal off I ordered a ceviche. I thought it was well-executed. Not too acidic. Seemed to be fresh ingredients. This was a nice beginning to the meal.

Then, for the main course I ordered a rice dish featuring, according to the Spanish version of the menu, a combination of short-ribs and calamari. The dish was served in a single portion paella pan. In the paella I received, the calamari were replaced by octopus. On later reviewing the English version of the menu, I noticed that the dish was accurately described as containing octopus in English.

The main dish fell short in several respects. The rice was, I believe, slightly under-cooked, rendering it a bit chewy. And the short rib was overcooked, rendering it almost dry. This I believe was a well-conceived dish. Excellent seasoning. But the failure of execution on both the rice and the principal ingredient cannot be overlooked.

For dessert I ordered the panna cotta with fresh blueberries. I think this was likely my favorite of the three courses. Simple. But the texture and the flavor of the panna cotta was excellent and the tart blueberries were the perfect foil for the creamy sweet custard.

I was expecting big things from Amaya after my incredibly successful outing at Merotoro. But on this visit, the shortcomings in the kitchen on the main dish resulted in a far less favorable experience. And, of course, in a far less favorable review.