Café del Sol Botanico

Friday, July 29th, 2016

Reviewed by Ryan Lapidus

I finally made it to the Cafe Del Sol Botanico. The reservation was for 2 and was made online which was simple and immediate. I received numerous confirmations which was great. The ambience is interesting, it almost feels like you are entering a health spa. Beautiful décor, lots of whites and greens. I personally felt that the lighting was a bit on the bright side though which can deter from the intimacy of the setting. Perhaps slightly dimmer lighting for dinner would be best. Service was superb. The waiter was attentive and always smiling. Myself and my partner shared a caprese salad which was delicious. You can taste the quality in the Mozzarella that was used. A bit shy on the avo but the delicious array of different coloured tomatoes made for a fresh delight on the palate. Our mains included the Spaghetti aglio, oglio, peperoncino e porcini as well as the Penne al filetto picante. Both choices were delicious. The aglio oglio packed a little kick with the chilli and just burst with flavour once I added my customary large portion of parmesan cheese sprinkles. The fillet pasta had quite a deep tomato underbelly which my partner adored. Without a doubt the pièce de résistance was desert. I had to try my stock standard cheesecake. For the first time though, this hefty slither had peanut butter mixed in. As a cheesecake snob and connoisseur, all I can say is OMG! Up there with just about any cheesecake around! My partner gobbled down the chocolate fondant in double quick time. I think she may have even licked the bowl while I wasn't looking! Lets just say that for 15 minutes we barely spoke. The sweet devouring of desert bliss ended all verbal interaction:-) To wash all this deliciousness down we settled on a bottle of the 2013 terra del capo sangiovese. Decently priced red blend which was easy on the palate and complimented the meal. All in all a fantastic dinner, albeit quite expensive. I will definitely be back, even if its just to dabble in that cheesecake again:-)