Amadora - To adore the gift of love through food.

It always makes me happy to see new restaurants pop up in my local area. 

Living near Richmond has always been a great pleasure from escaping from 

the hustle and bustle of the center of London. The commute on a bad day makes 

me think differently however on a good day it gives me opportunity to write down 

my initial thoughts about work and restaurants.

Amadora was open 7 months ago just by the green down paved court. 

2 courses and a glass of Prosecco for £18.95 you can't go too wrong. The owner 

was friendly and started conversations with all the Diners. It is very important that 

the front of house is welcoming because the first impression is an everlasting

impression.
 
The wine prices varied from £20 - £50, we ordered a White Sauvignon Blanc, 

summer always feels great with the taste of  snappy, zesty grape, full of aromatic 

personality. 
 
For starters I had the Calamari it was lightly fried wild garlic herbs on a bed of 

salad. The Calamari was really good the chunky slices was soft and was scrumptious 

I could it it twice. My dinner partner did mention that a little less salt would of been 

perfect. I think the chef use wild garlic and garlic powder which can sometimes be a 

bit salty, but also used as a substitute for salt. 

My dinner partner decided to go for the special of the day Asparagus linguine.  

Amadora had good portion sizes, however if they want to separate themselves 

from a chain restaurant they have to taste the food. The pasta was cooked Al Dente  

which is a bonus but the simplicity of pesto sauce and asparagus was not perfect. 

If I was to make at home, I could do it within 10 minutes not very imaginative for the 

dish of the day. If I had spent another 5 minutes putting attention and love into the food

it would surpass the chain restaurant faux par. 

Pan Fried Seabass in Cherry Tomato Sauce, with salad. I think they used the same

 salad from the calamari to garnish the Seabass. I guess the diners there probably did 

not order seafood for starters and mains. I would of accompanied the dish with some 

steam seasonal vegetables or mange tout. The sea bass was tasty the skin was crispy, 

the fish was filleted well and you can taste the fresh tomato sauce.

Is it about sourcing or saucing? 

For dessert we had Strawberry Cheese cake, I am not sure if it is because I am a 

perfectionist or I know what fresh homemade cheesecake taste like. I don't want 

to be horrible because I know how difficult it is to be a restauranteur. Unfortunately 

the meal got a little worse, the cheesecake base was soggy and it was not freshly 

made. It was like eating microwaved cream but paying £5 for it. I would 

pay £50 to watch Gordon Ramsay eat it, all hell would break loose. 

The dessert menu was very limited I decided to have Mango Sorbet and Chocolate 

ice cream. The ice cream was nice, very refreshing. The owner mentioned he 

sourced it from a local Richmond Ice Cream Parlour, Gelateria Danieli. Little did he 

know that this is my favourite place to eat ice cream in the summer. the dessert menu 

had 4 choices of flavor. If I owned an Italian restaurant I would of chosen to have the 

Strawberry Sorbet, Pastachio and Ferreror Rocher. I have tried all the flavours in 

Gelateria Danieli and these are the best ones.

The venue: Amadora

Cuisine: Italian

Date visited: 29/07/11

The damage: £80 party of 2

The food: 3 out 10, I think this could be a wonderful restaurant they just need time to be put Authenticity and LOVE into their cuisine.

The service: 7 out 10

Will I recommend Amadora: No not ATM

Will I return: No I only return if the food is really good.

Have I had better: Yes I have had alot better Italian Food in Richmond.