🍝 Valentina Cucina E Bar – A Scenic Spot with Underwhelming Flavours

After checking into the hotel, we were looking for somewhere convenient to grab dinner and decided to head up to the rooftop to try Valentina Cucina E Bar. The location definitely had promise — rooftop setting, sleek modern decor, and the potential for a lovely meal with a view.

But right from the moment we arrived, something felt off. There were quite a few staff at the entrance and bar area, but strangely, no one seemed interested in greeting or seating us. That awkward hesitation set the tone for the evening. Thankfully, one friendly young lady eventually approached us and turned things around with her warm smile and helpful attitude. She asked for our seating preference since the restaurant was pretty empty for a Wednesday night, and offered a few dish suggestions when we asked — something we appreciated.

We decided to go with the Caesar salad to share and a plate of vongole, since the missus was in the mood for clams. For dessert, we had tiramisu.

The Caesar salad was alright — fresh, decently dressed, but nothing particularly memorable. The vongole was a bit of a letdown. The pasta was cooked al dente, but the clams tasted flat and had that distinct “previously frozen” texture and flavour. It lacked the briny punch you usually look forward to in a good vongole.

Oddly enough, the highlight came at the end. The tiramisu was well done — a creative presentation and good balance of texture and flavour. Sweet, rich, and a nice end to an otherwise underwhelming meal.

Given the setting and the price point, I expected more. Service recovery was decent thanks to the one attentive staff member, but overall, I wouldn’t call it a satisfying dining experience. The view and the dessert were the best parts of the evening — the rest felt like style over substance.

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Post by Crumpled Nomad | Aug 3, 2025