January 10
I must confess that I loved La Guta restaurant in its former location on Nachalat Shiva. I loved the building and the ambiance, which was 100% Jerusalem. The food was spectacular and the service was great. I was heartbroken when owner Yossi told me that they were giving up the restaurant on Rivlin Street and moving La Guta to Derech Beit Lechem.
Whose Idea was this? I wondered. La Guta was a winning formula. It was known and loved by all for just about 20 years. They were never wanting for customers. It was a great success. Why fix what is not broken?
This week we visited La Guta in its new location on Derech Beit Lechem. We did not find La Guta restaurant in a new location. We found a new La Guta with another concept, and we loved it. The former elegant French style restaurant is no more. This is La Guta closer to the people, more accessible to a good number of younger and less formal diners.
Yet the elegance and the quality of the food has not been compromised.
The ambiance at La Guta on Derech Beit Lechem is lovely. The decor is Jerusalem stone with modern accents. To me it is not as magnificent as the restaurant on Rivlin but it is definitely a very beautifully designed restaurant and a very pleasant place to dine.
The restaurant is structured with several rooms off a main dining area. The rooms can be open or closed off with French doors for private affairs and parties. When we visited this restaurant there were three different parties going on in three of the rooms. Independent diners were seated in the main area and in tables near the bar. There must have been well over 150 people in the restaurant, yet we never would have known it. The service was excellent and the dishes were served promptly.
 The menu offers most of the dishes in two sizes: medium size and large. We loved this idea. Medium sized dishes are fine for individual diners and the large size portions work out well for sharing. Also, if you keep to the medium size portions your bill will be a lot lower than in most restaurants of this caliber. Our bill for two people came to an amazing nis 150. Show me another restaurant where you can dine this way for this price.
For a starter my companion and I shared a yummy dish of gnocchi with mushrooms in an Asian style sauce. It was beautifully presented in an attractive bowl and was very filling served with the basket of unique La Guta breads and spreads. You will remember these signature breads from the Rivlin restaurant.
For our main courses we had medium size portions of lamb and fish. My companion's lamb dish was attractively presented in a lovely bowl containing the meat on cooked vegetables. The lamb was soft and rich, so it must have been stewed or slow-cooked. It was presented in a sauce that was not overwhelming and did not disguise the flavor of the meat.
The fish dish consisted of one fillet served on a bed of spinach and other cooked vegetables. A standard portion of fish usually has two fillets. Though it would not have been a hardship to eat a second delicious fillet, it was not really necessary after having eaten the starter. We decided to pass on dessert (which certainly keeps the bill down). We were treated to a glass of sparkling dessert wine - a lovely way to end the meal. We were in the restaurant for just over one hour, a very reasonable amount of time for dinner. Our waitress was helpful and attentive and she earned her tip.
We love the little extras that come with dining in an exclusive restaurant like La Guta. All of the dishes and the cutlery are just beautiful. The long-stem wine glasses are graceful and the place settings are elegant. The restaurant logo is stamped on the drinking glasses - a nice touch. We were seated at a table near the bar so we got a look at the full stock of liquors that are available at the restaurant.
When we finished our meal we were satisfied but not bloated. We had eaten delicious foods but we had not overeaten. There was no need for a doggie bag to take home foods that are not particularly tasty when reheated. The dining experience was versatile and excellent.
On Friday mornings La Guta offers Shishi Shuk - take away for Shabbat.
And I have it on good word that they will be offering Pesachdik take away for the holiday. Sounds "la goota" to me. |