In the baroque Hotel Santa Lucia, located near (you guessed it) Santa Lucia park, there is a little cafe that the Critic found quite good in previous visits.

On this occasion, the Critic was dismayed to find the Cafe just a tad run down. The service, by a somewhat disheveled but still friendly waiter was good – no complaints there – as was the food which was not only tasty but also fresh and hot. Even the rolls were warm! The Greek salad ordered by the Better Half looked delicious, as did the fettucine with shrimp ordered by a Belgian Waffler.

The run down part was the actual place itself. There were stains on the walls, the air conditioners were visibly filthy, signage was haphazardly hanging behind the bar and all the desserts in the dessert fridge were from Costco. None of this would be particularly upsetting except for the fact that when the hotel and restaurant opened, they were both exquisitely presented with an eye to every last detail. There is no way that waiter would have been sporting that bed-head and definitely Dianne Krall singing jazz standards would not have been competing with the TV over the bar showing the archetypal Mexican western complete with gesturing priests, scurrying nuns, self-esteem challenged little boys, pistol waving facial haired cowboys and the crowning moment; the macho vaquero singing atop his horse in the wilderness.

The Critic wonders if there has been a change of ownership at this hotel? The original owners were/are much too finicky to accept this, one would think. Enjoy the photos!

• Sopa de Lima
• Greek Salad
• Shrimp Pasta