Another Trip to Ponte Vecchio

I've reviewed Ponte Vecchio on this blog before. It is a good, unpretentious Italian restaurant similar to many decent pizzerias around the city. However it's neither hip nor especially modern. But boy, when they serve up a plate of gnocchi gorgonzola, it is something of a magical experience, they manage to get the texture of the gnocchi just right, and the gorgonzola sauce is that perfect balance of creaminess and bite.

Le Thé

Le Thé is a Chinese restaurant located in Plainpalais. It's tiny, could definitely use a little renovation and the service isn't quite what I would call warm and fuzzy. Ah yes, but the food is delectable and the ingredients are so fresh. Frankly, if it was up to me, I'd go several times a week.

Pictured below: a selection of Dim Sum and a spring roll.

The Mediterranean Grill

So this was my second visit to The Mediterranean Grill. I was quite happy with my first visit to the Turkish restaurant, and I wanted to go back to see how it held up. I definitely enjoyed my second meal there and would gladly go back for a third!

Pictured below: zucchini fritters, an assortment of appetizers and köfte (Turkish meatballs) with salad, flatbread and bulgur pilavi.

Pasta d'Oro

Some restaurants look fairly nondescript from the outside, places you probably wouldn't really think of visiting if someone didn't take you or if you didn't read a good review. Pasta d'Oro looks like a very ordinary Italian restaurant from the outside, but apparently it's quite popular with a lot of Genevans. A friend of mine recently suggested we meet there for dinner, and I quite enjoyed my meal. It's probably not one of those places I'd want to go to every other week, but I definitely thought it was worth checking out.

Pictured below: gnocchi gorgonzola

Bat Dat

Bat Dat is a Vietnamese restaurant located in Plainpalais. I kept hearing good reviews and though I never really went out of my way to have a meal there, I knew I'd definitely want to give it a try when I got the chance. Such an opportunity recently arose and I immediately seized it! And though I went there for dinner and Plainpalais turns into something of an unsavory neighborhood at night, I would definitely recommend Bat Dat. However, lunch might be a wiser option.

Now, to be honest, I was not familiar with Vietnamese cuisine. I've certainly had my share of Japanese, Chinese and Thai food, but Vietnamese flavors would certainly be a new - if welcome - experience to my taste buds. And let me tell you, it was an experience that did not disappoint! The ingredients used were fresh and the food was amazing, in fact I can't wait to go back and sample a few more of Bat Dat's dishes!

Pictured below: Bo Luc Lac, a delicious beef dish that had strong lemon and cilantro flavors (I cannot overemphasize how much I love cilantro but I know a lot of people think it kind of tastes like soap) and a side of rice noodles. I think Bat Dat tends to serve Bo Luc Lac with steamed rice, but I just felt like having noodles.

Mamounia

Mamounia is a Moroccan restaurant located in Plainpalais, just as you cross the bridge. I hadn't been to the restaurant in probably over a decade and we thought we would go check it out on a rainy Saturday evening - we've been experiencing a lot of those recently, haven't we?

I don't think much has changed over the years, Mamounia still makes a good couscous, which is what we wanted to have anyway.

Pictured below: couscous Mamounia, which includes semolina, merguez sausages, lamb, chicken, meatballs and various vegetables.

Café Universal

Café Universal is one of Geneva's better known restaurants. Located in Plainpalais, it's been around for a while, but I only recently had my first meal there, and though I had heard mixed reviews, I quite enjoyed it! My only complaint is that I asked for a medium rare ribeye steak and it came a little rare to my liking, but this is Geneva, and I think I've said this before, they hardly ever get the doneness right here. Oh well.

Pictured below: a ribeye steak with sides of vegetables and fries followed by a nutella crème brulée I would definitely recommend and if you like nutella!

Mediterranean Grill

Constantly finding new restaurants you actually want to try in Geneva can be a bit of a challenge. But when I recently got my hands on some vouchers for the Mediterranean Grill, located in Plainpalais, I thought "Why not?" It turns out the Mediterranean Grill is actually a Turkish restaurant run by a very friendly gentleman.

The vouchers entitled us to a mixed appetizer platter and one of the specials as the main course. That day, the specials included lahmacun, a Turkish-style pizza, which we ordered mostly just because we wanted to taste it - but we were also drawn to some of the other items on the menu, so we ordered a couple of other dishes and paid the difference. The menu led me to believe there would be a few more veggies in my köfte dish, so that was a bit of a letdown but overall I enjoyed my meal at Mediterranean Grill and would definitely go back, though if a delicious Turkish meal in Geneva is what you're looking for, Sofram certainly comes to mind as a worthy contender.

Pictured below: lavash, a Turkish flatbread, assorted appetizers, lahmacun, and finally, köfte served with bulgur, one of my favorite Turkish dishes. Oh and by the way, the zucchini fritter in the appetizer platter was absolutely amazing!

Takumi

When it comes to chicken teriyaki, it doesn't get much better than Shibata, but if sushi is what you're craving, Takumi can definitely hold its own.

Pictured below: shrimp sushi and tamago.

Holy Cow and Inglewood - nothing to write home about

This is a tough review to write. I'm constantly complaining there is a consistent lack of effort to improve Geneva's food culture yet when not one but two new burger joints open in a short amount of time, I'm a little... underwhelmed with the effort.

Inglewood, a small restaurant between Plainpalais and Acacias, definitely gets higher marks as far as I am concerned, their burger certainly feels like an overall quality product. The meat is fresh and tasty but the winner here is definitely the bun, it is pretty much by itself what makes the experience worthwhile! The poppy seed roll is crispy on the outside and soft inside, the way it really should be! The fries are OK but nothing spectacular, the salad is a wholly forgettable experience... which saddens me. Most places here don't understand that a salad, be it a side, can be a fresh and delicious experience. Use the right ingredients, add the right dressing and you're in for a very special treat! But no such luck here.

So while Inglewood's burger is enjoyable, it somehow fails to live up to the hype (in a recent episode, Swiss television's A bon entendeur rated Inglewood's burger highest among the 11 burgers it tested) and I was expecting a more palate-pleasing experience. Also, getting in is no simple task. You can't book for lunch so you just have to go and hope they'll have a spot for you, and you may want to book in advance for an evening meal -- it seems to fill up pretty quickly. Out of my three attempts to sample their food, only one was successful, and let's face it, a girl can only take so much rejection.

Oh yeah, one final word about Inglewood: do yourself a favor and skip the desserts. Especially the donuts.

Now onto Holy Cow, again I had high hopes for this place, after all, ever since it first opened in Lausanne, it has consistently been getting rave reviews. Yet in spite of the fact that they seem to be doing everything right (they use fresh, organic ingredients, have a baker make a special bun and only seem to use local suppliers), virtually nothing about their burgers works for me. The bun is too soft and bland, the meat is OK and may well be of a superior quality but in terms of taste and texture, I just didn't enjoy it. But worst of all was the overpowering barbecue sauce they seem to use in most -- if not all -- of their burgers. It so completely ruined the experience for me the first time around, I actually made it a point to go back and order a burger that didn't list the offensive sauce as one of its ingredients but lo and behold, it somehow still made its way into my Big Cheese.

The fries are very unimpressive and while I thought there were more than enough of them, I doubt everyone would feel the same way.

I don't know. I'm not sure how to evaluate this place fairly, clearly a lot of effort has gone into making Holy Cow what it is and many people seem to enjoy it, but I find it hard to believe you would genuinely enjoy a meal in this restaurant if you've had a decent burger anywhere else in the world. And I'm not just talking about cities in North America, I would include many other cosmopolitan cities around the globe.

A Big Cheese menu at Holy Cow (the burger with a side of fries and a drink) will run you about CHF 18. For a gourmet burger, that seems fair, but frankly for the Holy Cow experience, I thought it was a little overpriced. If you happen to be taking your entire family out for dinner, it's downright expensive for what it is. Frankly I'd order a Big Mac at McDonald's any day over a Holy Cow burger, and I say this as someone who has a very strong aversion to McDonald's.

I could go back to Inglewood. I doubt I'll be going back to Holy Cow.

Pictured below: Inglewood's Pasadena burger followed by Holy Cow's Elvis Blue Cheese and Big Cheese burgers. And yes the bun was sadly just as flat as it looks in the last picture.

La Broche

La Broche is a French restaurant located in Plainpalais. When the restaurant first opened, a number of years ago, a meal there essentially consisted of either lamb or chicken, but over the years, the menu has grown to include beef, various salads and vegetarian dishes in addition to its original choices. Overall the food is very good (the lamb with a side of pommes charlottes is definitely worth trying) and the atmosphere is quite pleasant.

Pictured below: an excellent pine nut and parmesan salad followed by grilled lamb and mashed potatoes.

Ponte Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio is an Italian restaurant located in Plainpalais. Their food is good, the staff is friendly and their menu boasts a number of pizzas, pasta dishes as well as many other house specialties. The pasta is pretty amazing, and while this is clearly no Luigia, even the pizza is quite good. Definitely worth a visit!

Pictured below: Penne Carbonara, Tortellini alla Pana, Pizza Margherita, Tagliatelle al Gorgonzola and Gnocchi al Gorgonzola.

Incontro

Penne siciliana is undoubtedly Incontro's signature dish, and while I quite enjoy it, I've always been partial to their linguine agli scampi so I was rather disappointed when they switched to penne as their pasta of choice for that particular dish, I'm not entirely sure what prompted the decision, but it makes a huge difference both in taste and in texture, and the dish just doesn't work as well with penne as far as I'm concerned though to be fair it's still pretty good... I guess. They still make a decent pizza though.

Pictured below: penne agli scampi and a mushroom pizza

Nyamuk

When I first walked in to Nyamuk, a Thai restaurant located in Plainpalais, and took a look around me, I started racing through my head for possible excuses to leave the establishment and go eat somewhere else instead, it just didn't look very promising. Little did I know I would sit down to some of the best pad thai I've had in Geneva thus far! The ingredients were incredibly fresh, and the dish was just delicious. However, I should also mention that in comparison to other restaurants, Nyamuk's pad thai packs quite a bit of heat — nothing overpowering mind you, it's just a little spicier than you may be accustomed to if you've had the dish in some of Geneva's other Thai restaurants.

Pictured below: shrimp pad thai.

LOVE ME DO - Gelato

Even though the temperatures are still fairly warm, the summer is definitely over. Nevertheless, one still craves a good scoop or two of scrumptious gelato every now and then. LOVE ME DO, a Plainpalais located joint, serves a number of different flavors, a nice combination of classic and original.

They also seem to sell pizza by the slice, but I haven't sampled their pies so there is not much I can say about them.

Pictured below: two scoops of chocolate and peanut butter goodness.

Emilios

At this point, there is really only one Greek restaurant in Geneva. In the past there were a couple of others, but they seem to have fallen by the wayside. However, Emilios seems to have done rather well for itself. Located in the lively neighborhood of Plainpalais, the restaurant serves a number of popular Greek dishes including Moussaka, gyros, various Greek salads and starters and of course baklava.

Pictured below: cheese pastries and a chicken gyro.

Takumi

Yet another restaurant located in Plainpalais! Takumi is a Japanese resturant which serves both sushi and tepanyaki, it is a busy establishment and it is probably preferable to make a reservation before going especially for larger parties.

Pictured below: Miso soup, rice, vegetables and chicken teriyaki.

Trattoria dei Trulli

Trattoria dei Trulli is located quite conveniently if you're in the Plainpalais/Carouge area, their pizza is quite good, and they also have lots of pasta dishes on their menu.

Pictured below: Scampi pasta (you can have a second serving if you're so inclined).

Baguette d'Or

This is my second post about Baguette d'Or, the Plainpalais located Chinese restaurant. I had last been in September 2009 and I figured the time had come to pay them another visit.

Pictured below: a wonton soup, followed by fried rice and crispy lemon duck.

Cheesecake & Co.

Are you in the mood for cheesecake? Cheesecake & Co. located in Plainpalais offers a variety of different cheesecakes, including chocolate chip and peanut butter cheesecake, marble cheesecake, coconut and pineapple cheesecake and of course New York cheesecake. Their menu also includes bagels, cupcakes, muffins and brownies.

Many places like this one have tried their luck in Geneva in the past, so it is hard to tell how Cheesecake & Co. will fare. Their competition includes Starbucks which offers many of the same items on its menu. Maybe it will just be a question of whether your preference goes to Starbuck's raspberry cheesecake or Cheesecake & Co's almond amaretto cheesecake.

Pictured below: a slice of chocolate chip and peanut butter cheesecake.