$$$$Price: Moderate • Mediterranean • Downtown
Four of us - all with refined pallets - at dinner at Andaluca the first week of November 2024. We were among the first guests seated, and we stayed almost four hours during which time the restaurant crowd waxed and waned. The service was attentive but NOT hovering, and we were clearly NOT pushed to leave after we finished our dessert. The convenient location of the restaurant and the availability of valet parking made meeting at the restaurant convenient.
We tried two starters, one simple - marinated olives, which were fine - and one complex, roasted eggplant with harissa, pine nuts and sundried tomatoes, which was wonderful. The dish was surprisingly generous for the price, and the flavors were wonderful - not too hot but not too bland. The combination, especially the texture of the pine nuts, was quite salubrious.
We shared two first courses - the citrus and beet salad, which was much enjoyed by those who don't think beets taste like dirt. The burrata was flavorful (and the serving quite generous), and the green pesto and pickled onions were a surprising but effective accompaniment.
We had four different entrees. I had the to-die-for lamb chops - three of them carefully roasted on the bone with char on the outside but medium rare at the center. They were served over roasted greens, hummus-yoghurt and tiny oven roasted pieces of squash (?). I would return for this dish alone. My partners had the salmon - excellently seasoned and prepared - the boneless chicken breast with preserved lemon - which quickly disappeared - and another main course that eludes my aging memory. While none of these were inexpensive, the servings were large, the ingredient quality was high, and the preparation was nearly perfect.
The dessert list was short but thoughtful.
The ambience of the restaurant - all booths (?) - is muted and reasonably quiet. The staff moves about quietly and with deliberation, slipping in to refill beverages or to remove plates, but not lingering.
