I have been dining here for a good 7–8 years now, but this is the first time I am writing about it in the form of a review. In the early days of Seta, I remember so many “wow” moments; the chef is particularly skilled at game cookery—this is his greatest strength. The countless times we had his sweetbread, even when it wasn’t on the menu, always managed to leave us speechless, with a smiley face on the plate that used to make us laugh. The quiet grace and charm of Manuel, and Andrea with his deep passion for wine and personable, friendly aura, are things we always look forward to. Over the years, we have built a connection with this restaurant, not just for the food but for the people as well. There has been a gap since our last visit, so it was nice to sit down and “be back.”
A lot has changed—fresh faces all around, even a new aperitif. I didn’t see any sign of the crispy egg (I loved that). I never thought they would take it off the menu, and there appeared to be fewer starters than I remembered. More doesn’t always mean better, though.
The seaweed butter was still here; the intensity that the seaweed brings makes for a delicious one. The “normal” butter sat alongside in its rightful place. The bread is excellent as usual, with that gorgeous springy texture—so soft, and the crust is just right, crisp but not too hard, pulling away from the crumb perfectly. Unfortunately, the gluten-free bread was not up to scratch; it was hard and dry, which is not normally the case. I remembered a gluten-free focaccia with olives inside, but it was not the same tonight. Coincidentally, it looked like it came from the in-room dining.
Gnocchi is a favourite, so I chose this for my starter (à la Parisienne, with red cabbage and almond). Pillowy, light gnocchi (not overworked)—they were delicate and airy, almost melting as you ate them. The red cabbage and almond brought balance. It all worked as a dish.
I must be honest: when the lamb arrived at the table, I was convinced that Chef Guida hadn’t cooked it or overseen it. This was not him on the plate. The lamb fat was disappointing—rubbery, not pleasing to eat. The lamb cut itself was full of chewiness. More black garlic was needed, and far more morels (there were only four small ones in the dish), which were not impressive product-wise. I had a gut feeling that the kitchen had radically changed, or something had happened, because in the last decade, I have never had such undesirable things to say about this place.
The sweetbread that we rave about so much was the saddest moment. It was served too pink, and the end part was bloody and chewy. Despite this drama, we still found a little bit of Chef Guida in the sauce. Manuel offered to get us something else, which we appreciated, but we declined.
We took cheese and skipped dessert; my favourite raisin bread was still here to go with it. The cheese was good.
I didn’t find the petit fours at the same level. I was now wondering what was going on, completely blindsided by this meal. I was not expecting to write this, so it has come as a complete surprise. I felt quite sad, at a loss, almost mourning for what had come before. I only wanted to talk about Seta in the ways that I know, but unfortunately, this night didn’t allow me to do that. I like everybody here and don’t want to bring down the morale, but sometimes we must speak the truth for things to be addressed and turned around. Based on this meal, I cannot say that I will be going back soon. And this is hard for me to say, especially given our repeat visits spanning the last years. I hope they get back on track and rise again…
