We arrived about 3PM and hadn't had lunch so we went to La Cana. They had a very large lunch menu which made it hard to pick
My started was the Salad Nicoise which had some great tasting seared tuna along with anchovies and fresh greens. The greens were drizzled with a creamy dressing - similar to caesar but not as much garlic which was a great omission since I wanted to be able to taste the tuna.
We also had the steak tartare. This was a very balanced preparation and the quail egg was a nice touch to add some creaminess to the dish.
For main course, I went with the Flat Meat (I think we would call it Flat Iron steak in US) with garlic and parsley compound butter and a side salad. I had ordered the steak medium rare and it came out closer to medium. This has been an issue I have seen at many all inclusives since I think the term "medium rare" gets lost somewhere in translation. What we later learned to do, was to use the term "less done" or rare and we got the correct temperature. It is of course possible to have them cook something more if it did come and it was not done enough to your liking.
Even at medium, the steak was full of flavor, and as that compound butter melted it enhanced it even more. The salad had a light vinaigrette which was a nice balance to the richness of the dish. I loved the simplicity of this dish.
My wife's started was the grilled salmon with sauteed vegetables which she had also ordered medium rare. This also came out more done than she wanted which we think was the same reason the steak had that issue. No issues with the flavor. If you are a lover of salmon, you know that the texture suffers a bit as you have it cooked more towards well done. So a good composed dish - just need to make sure they can cook it to the temperature you prefer.
After an afternoon of skeet shooting (Yes!! You can do that here!!), we were back in our room and got ready for dinner which was also a La Cana. My starter was a delicate spinach and ricotta crepe. It was listed as a main course on the menu but the server let me order it as a starter. If there is such a thing as crepe mastery, this was it. The crepe was so thin, yet held all the ingredients together as you took each bite. And it was served on top of a what I think was a rich bechamel. Where some bechamels can become gluey or goopy (don't you love fancy words?). ths was smooth and succulent and enhanced each bite. I also like that the bechamel was at the bottom since the crepe had some crisp browning for texture. I would order this again and again.
This seafood risotto was a bit different preparation that I had seen, More like a stew but had great flavor and tender shrimp.
Dessert time!! I love a good lemon dessert so had to order this lemon curd over a granola crumble. The lemon flavor was pronounced and not super sweet. The "wedges" were thin pieces of meringue. The only addition I would have made is serving this with a bit of creme fraiche to balance the tartness a bit. Otherwise a great dessert.
We also tried their version of chocolate melting cake. It was served with a coffee ice cream and crumble. It had everything you would expect in this type of dessert which seems to be served at almost every fine dining restaurant. Seems to be a staple they must all have - somewhat like a caesar salad.
I loved how they served the coffee here with a sample of a few small cookies.
The only picture from breakfast. Loved the views and the food was pretty good. They only offer a breakfast buffet at this resort. There is no a la carte options that we saw. I found it to be lacking in variety. Both days we had breakfast it was nearly identical items being served. Also, the only way to order eggs or omelette was to stand in line for the chef to make them to order. I love having a chef station for eggs since it lets you get an omelette however you like it. Or to get those delicious freshly fried over easy eggs so you can soak them up with toast or croissant. But they had no area for self-serve scrambled eggs or any egg dishes at all you could get yourself. That is a staple of every other breakfast buffet I have been to. So if you were looking for a quicker breakfast with some eggs, you would be waiting in line. The resort was at about 60% capacity and the line was at least 15 minutes to get eggs. I know - you are on vacation and you should be relaxed and not stress out. But I think the resort should review how they do this.
My favorite item was the fresh mango. That has been terrific at most all inclusives I've been at (see my blog about Breathless Punta Cana for more details) and was the same here.
We spent the rest of the morning at the pool. We had lunch back at La Cana. I had the one of the most delicious pieces of beef I have ever had. It was grilled flank steak with frites. From our lunch experience the day before, I learned to ask for "rare" and it came our perfect for me. It was seasoned with a garlic butter (maybe the same compound butter from before) and then topped with parsley and garlic. The frites were so crispy and almost melted in your mouth. And I had a little mayo on the side for dipping for the Belgian Fry experience!! Perhaps the only thing I would have added is a small crunchy french baguette. I would have used that to sop up the delicious juices that came from the flank steak.
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My wife got a chicken caesar which was well made. Fresh croutons, large pieces of moist chicken and a delicate dressing.
Desserts were a decent apple crumble with vanilla ice cream and lime sorbet which was my favorite. A great palate cleanser after that nice lunch.
For our last night we had dinner at La Casita. This was a restaurant where it really became obvious why you need a golf cart to stay here. The restaurant was a little town down past the marina. Several of the restaurants are in this area. Since it was our first time, we left plenty of time to drive there. We had to park in a lot just for golf carts and then we walked to the restaurants. We later found out they have shuttles which we took back after dinner.
We had a great table right next to the water.
I started with the octopus which was served with garlic, sweet pepper and drizzled with olive oil. My favorite dish of the night. Octopus was cooked so it was still tender and was well seasoned.
Scallops which came with similar toppings to the octopus. I guess sitting next to the water inspired us to order seafood.
These were goat cheese balls served with arugula and machego.
Seafood mixed grill. It was shrimp and caribbean lobster in their shells that had been split and then grilled. Also was grilled calamari. It was tossed with olive oil and lemon after grilling. Calamari was my favorite since it was still tender. The shrimps and lobster had suffered a little on the grill and came out dry. Could have used a side dish of clarified butter but overall a decently cooked dish - that could have been cooked better.
This was the grilled snapper with tomatoes and capers. The fish was a bit overdone but still had a nice flavor.
This was a passion fruit cake. I didn't like the flavor of this.
I love a good cheesecake with fruit topping. I was hoping this would be that dessert. The cheesecake flavor was lacking, maybe too many eggs were used. Instead of having a creamy goodness, it was more cake-like.
We also got a small plate of some great tasting cookies - seems to be a signature of this resort.
TOP TIPS:
1. We only had a chance to eat a two restaurants but if you come here, I would avoid La Casita. It wasn't worth the drive we made. La Cana had the most outstanding food of the two nights and I hope they still have that Flank (Skirt) steak when you come.
2. Room service is not part of the all inclusive so don't order that unless you are okay with the a la carte prices.
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