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Slovakia Restaurant:
Lunch was a winner, but not so for dinner
Slovakia Restaurant
164 Roswell St. Marietta, Ga 30060
M-F 11-2, 6-10 Sat 5-10 Sun Closed
BY RICHARD SCHAEFFER
I was anticipating reviewing the Slovakia Restaurant housed in the old Jimmy's just off the square in Marietta on Roswell St.
I had been a guest for lunch there not too long ago and had been favorably impressed. Unfortunately, dinner did not fare so well.
Lunch is priced somewhat better than dinner with a large variety of the dinner entrees available. If you are going for dinner, however, bring lots of money.
The dinner menu is quite extensive listing thee soups, five salads, ten appetizers and 42 entrees. The soup of the day is priced daily and Traditional French Onion Soup is $5.95. Salads range from $3.95 for the house salad to $7.95 for a chevre salad, fresh greens and onions topped with goat cheese. Appetizers include Tartar Steak at $10.95 , crab cake at $11.95 and potato skins at $6.95.
The least costly entree is Chicken Europe, two marinated chicken breasts broiled and topped with garlic butter at $15.95, and the most costly is Lobster Tail, our famous batter-fried cold water lobster tail, designed to seal in the true taste of the lobster, served with scarlet sauce and drawn butter also available broiled at $42.95.
Other entrees include trout with a variety of coatings at $18.95, Fillet?? mignon at $26.95, veal chop at $27.95 and rack of lamb at $28.95. All entrees are served with potato and vegetable, but salads are additional. A full bar and a good selection of wines are available and priced comparably with other restaurants.
Unfortunately, the restaurant does not carry any of the fine slovakian wines.
The restaurant opened promptly at 6 on a Wednesday evening and were greeted politely and seated by the hostess. The decor and furnishings are the same as when it was Jimmy's and the tables were covered with tablecloths and set with napkins.
No silver was on the table as it is provided with each course. Classical music was playing at a pleasant level. The waitress arrived and took our drink order.
She returned shortly with our wine and a basket of what, I assume, were supposed to be rolls. They may have been Pepperidge Farms, but, in any event, were some of the worst I have ever been served, even here in the Atlanta area which is known for lousy bread in its restaurants.
A cheese spread served with the ersatz rolls was quite good. We ordered, specifically stated to share, the slovakian spatzle appetizer , potato spatzle with bacon and cheese at $7.95, and the salad "Slovakia", greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper and onion specially marinated then topped with cheese at $6.95. In spite of the high prices for most of the entrees, there are several good buys on the menu.
I ordered the Slovakia Plate, 1/4 roasted duck, smoked and roasted pork served with sauerkraut or red cabbage and bread dumplings at $16.95 and my companion ordered golden pork, marinated in Stefan's special sauce then sauteed at $18.95 served with mashed potatoes and vegetables.
We had requested that we share the appetizer and salad. However, both dishes were served at the same time.
The last time that happened to me, I walked out of the restaurant, but this time I wanted to see how the entrees were. No additional plates, silver or serving spoons were provided with the dishes and we had to ask for both. Both dishes were very good.
The spatzle were hot and the bacon diced and crunchy. The vegetables in the salad were fresh, the marinade tasty and the cheese complemented both very well.
After an appropriate wait, the main courses were served. The pork Slovakia was very good, with an eggy coating that puffed when the meat was sauteed. The mashed potatoes were good as well and the vegetables were fresh and done properly.
My Slovakia platter was huge. The duck was excellent as was the smoked pork chop which, in America can be very dry, was moist and full of flavor. The roasted pork was overcooked completely, dry and tasteless. The dish was hard to eat because so much food was piled on the plate. A larger plate or platter would serve the purpose better.
The red cabbage was also a disappointment, overly sweet and over cooked. The bread dumplings were good.
For dessert, we passed over the palacinky "patrik", two slovakian pancakes stuffed with strawberry jam, fresh strawberries then toped with whipped cream, chocolate and roasted pecans, and served with vanilla ice cream at $10.95 for a flan made in house at $5.95. The flan was excellent.
The bill for two glasses of wine, one appetizer, one salad, two entrees, one dessert and two coffees was $91 including a tip of just less than 15%.
On a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best,
I rate the Slovakia Restaurant as follows:
Food 3.75 (the overcooked pork and red cabbage)
Service 2.0 (serving the salad and appetizer
at the same time a major error)
Ambiance 3.0
Cleanliness 5.0
Value 3.0
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