Restaurant Review: Verdé Exclusive Bistro Cafe

  

Photos taken from Verdé's Facebook page.

I don't always find restaurants to get excited about but when I do I make sure I visit them as often as possible. When I first discovered Verdé, it had just re-opened and I kept hinting to my husband that I really wanted to go. I had read some good reviews and it looked like a unique, romantic place in pictures I’d seen. As it happens, in the last three months, I’ve visited the place four times. Here’s a detailed look at my four visits:

First Visit (6^th February):

From the moment my husband and I entered, I was captivated by the gurgling sounds of the water contraption at the entrance, the abundance of plants and trees everywhere and the slight hint of magic in the air (although that might just have been my imagination). We had a reservation although, as it turned out, we didn’t really need one since we were the only two people there. We chose seating outside, enjoying the cool breeze and the feeling of being surrounded by nature. The waiters were friendly and attentive and brought us paper flower garlands as a welcome gesture. That definitely added a unique element to the visit! Although the menu was quite limited, we both found entrées to our liking and placed the order.

What We Ordered:

Starters:

Boneless Buffalo Wings

Entrées:

Fish and Chips

Stuffed Beef Burger

Drinks:

Strawberry Smoothie

All Berries Smoothie

Despite the fact that the food was nothing to write home about, I was very impressed with the smoothies and the overall service. Just as we were finishing our dinner, we got a wonderful view of fireworks happening somewhere close by (probably for the Sindh Festival) which was the cherry on top of an absolutely lovely evening out.

Second Visit (19^th February):

I chose Verdé as the venue for dinner with my best friend on her birthday. This time around, the place was almost half full but the service was still up to the mark. We sat outside again and she loved the place!

What We Ordered:

Starters:

Crab Gratin

Entreé:

The House Special Pizza

Drinks:

All Berries Smoothie

The crab gratin was delicious. Served in small crab shells, with toasted white bread strips it was the perfect mix of flavors although you couldn’t really taste the crab individually. We shared the pizza; the regular sized one was enough for both of us. The thin crust pizza was topped with olives, jalapenos, spicy chicken pieces, capsicum, onions, tomatoes and lots of cheese and we both really enjoyed it.

Third Visit (10^th March):

For the first time, I visited Verdé during the day and sat inside rather than outside. They had a match screening going on and the place was full. Although, once again, the overall experience was great we noticed that the food took really long to arrive.

What We Ordered

Starters:

Crab Gratin

Entreé:

Red Snapper with Avocado

Chicken Burger

Dessert:

Chocolate Malt Cake

The crab gratin was extremely oily which really took away from the taste. The red snapper was delicious but the chicken burger was nothing special. It was the chocolate malt cake that really stole the show; the rich, moist texture and melt-in-your-mouth frosting was the perfect way to end the meal.

Fourth Visit (5^th April):

The worst experience out of all the times I’d visited, it really made me question if I’d ever go back. I got a reservation on the phone and was told that it would not be a problem. When I reached Verdé with a group of eight people, they completely denied knowledge of any reservation and insisted that they don’t take reservations on weekends so it wasn’t possible that I could have one. We ended up being seated on a table inside where the air conditioning was barely working. The food took almost an hour to come and the waiters were so busy that they had to be called three or four times before they would make their way to our table.

What We Ordered:

Starters:

Crab Gratin

Tex Mex Fries

Stuffed Mushrooms with Cheese and Spinach

Entrées:

Red Snapper with Avocado (2)

Alfredo Pasta (3)

Smoked Turkey Sandwich (2)

Chicken Panini (1)

No one had any complaints about the food except that it took ages to come and the bread for the sandwiches was quite dry. 

Verdict: The ambiance is amazing if you're looking for an intimate, romantic dinner and works for a meal out with family and friends too. They really need to work on maintaining the standard of their food and quality of service if they want repeat business from their customers. Negative experiences like the one I had on my last visit will definitely put people off.