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Restaurant: Rita House

By Jules Quartly
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Jan 12, 2007, Page 15

Rita House aims to be a very, very good restaurant but doesn't quite make the grade. PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES

Some experts will tell you there are three golden rules to setting up a restaurant: location, location and location. Rita House gets one out of three for its dining establishment set up in the alleys behind the bustling Zhongxiao East Road shopping area.

Sandwiched between two "very, very good" restaurants (VVG Bistro and VVG Table), the owner who gives her name simply as Rita, has her work cut out to compete. Her place looks the part. Opened in July last year, it has a great deck with plenty of greenery and the surroundings are tranquil. Inside there is antique furniture, wooden paneling and an impressive bar at the back.

Even so, it's vaguely chintzy. Chandeliers and Tiffany lamps cast their spell and there are small pictures on the wall. It's as if the owner imagined what a classy European teahouse was like and came up with a gin palace instead. Ornate chairs jostle with empty bird cages and cabinets filled with tea containers. It's not unpleasant but it won't win any design awards.

As for the food, some dishes are themed. This is a mistake. For example a Chopin steak (NT$600) competes with a "lovingly baked" Mozart pork chop (NT$580). What do Amadeus Mozart and pork, Frederic Chopin and beef, have in common? According to the menu, English-style lamb (NT$550) is "jolly good," but the house pasta with clams in tomato sauce is standard fare and quite expensive at NT$400.

There is a set lunch menu, however, that is good value. It started on a bum note with a few pieces of iceberg lettuce and four, black olive halves resting on cucumber slices, coated in a drizzled, orange-flavored mayonnaise. The heated roll that followed was better, as it had not been microwaved to death. The onion soup was homemade and therefore deserves some credit, but was a touch watery.

The main course of smoked chicken was flavorsome and tender, though it was swimming in a pool of oil. The risotto was small but perfectly formed, with golden needle and sliced field mushrooms, plus chopped tomatoes and a refreshing pesto sauce. The only gripe here was a sprig of parsley past its sell-by date. The lunch finished on a high note with a satisfying creme brulee and chamomile tea. Not bad for a total of NT$280.

Open from 11am to 10:30pm, Rita House provides lunch, dinner and a meeting place for tea sets in the afternoons. The owner encourages customers to take their time and the service was attentive.
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