La Arcadia

That evening, my parents & I had made reservations to have dinner at a restaurant named La Arcadia, located across the 24 hour bar at our hotel. As always, we had to be casually dressed and wearing proper shoes. Since this was our first time eating there, all we knew was that we would have to pay for the wine.

Upon opening the door for my parents, I was taken aback by the formal setting. The place was dimly lit, and filled with the classical sounds of a string quartet. It reminded me of Le Café and Wilfred’s back in Ottawa. As the bald middle aged waiter escorted us to our table, I realized I was underdressed; the black pants were fine but I was wearing a Linkin Park t shirt. If I had known earlier, I would have worn a collared shirt. I could have run back to our room to change but decided to stick with it . . . and hope I didn’t get thrown out.

While I my mother picked out a house wine for 10 CUC, I scanned the wine list to find the most expensive item, turning out to be a French Chardonnay for 200 CUC. As for food, you choose 2 appetizers, a main course, followed by dessert. The waiters knew basic English, so I just pointed at what I wanted & everything was fine. I could tell that this was going to be a royal kind of dinner.

The waiter first came with a bowl of bread & the house wine, presenting it to my mother to try out. She declined & passed on the responsibility to me. After a brief taste, the wine won my approval and we were left with the bottle & three big glasses. As we waited for our appetizers, we listened to the string quartet play a variety of classical pieces, from Baroque to Romantic. After several pieces, the leader would walk to a table & ask for any requests. Our appetizers, onion soup & salad, arrived at the same time, and tasted great.

For the main course, I had lamb, my mother had pasta, and my father had fish. Once again they were delivered at the same time and with another bottle of white house wine. By this time, the head of the string quartet approached our table and asked for any requests, to which my mother replied, ‘Something by Vivaldi.’ The result was Spring from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. The food definitely tasted like 5 stars except there wasn’t enough of it – the major downside to culinary arts. I guess it’s supposed to force people eat slowly and participate more in table conversations.

Once our table was cleared, we received our dessert menus. My father & I chose a cheesecake while my mom decided on a flaming crème brulee. As a bonus, my mom was treated to a preparation performance by the waiter, reminding me of the chef at the Sakura restaurant. The flame reached a noticeable height, prompting looks from other tables. As we enjoyed our treats, the head chef appeared at a table behind us, talking to a couple who had wanted to thank him personally for the meals.

And just like that, the dinner was over & it was time to leave. We thanked the waiters for their services & left them 6 CUC as a tip. As for the string quartet, since they were so good, we left them 20 CUC. Add the two bottles of wine, we spent 46 CUC. It would have been more if we had to pay for the food. Nevertheless, dining at La Arcadia made me feel like a politician who uses taxpayers money to eat at fancy restaurants. If you find yourself staying at Melias Las Americas, give La Arcadia a try. Just make sure you’re dressed well.