I had heard great things about CreoLa in San Carlos, so we headed there for dinner with Mom over Mother’s Day weekend. Dinner was…disappointing. The service, while friendly, was lacking. We asked the hostess a question about the menu when we were first seated. And, she never came back. We asked for water. And, they never came back. Well, not until the fourth time we mentioned it.
I was especially excited about the appetizers — Shrimp Bourbon Street (Jumbo shrimp flash fried, served with orange marmalade horseradish sauce; pictured above) and the Crawfish Hush Puppies (Corn fritters stuffed with crawfish tails and served with a Remoulade sauce; pictured below). Presentation aside, the shrimp was pretty good. The hush puppies looked like they had been left in the fryer about 5 minutes too long. The over-frying made the corn-based filling gummy and I couldn’t even taste the crawfish.
The entrees (all pictured below) fared a bit better. We ordered the sautéed jumbo shrimp over stuffing, pan-blackened redfish and the catfish.
The shrimp and the redfish were pretty tasty. I wish I could say the same about my catfish. Again, the over-fried breading really ruined the whole dish. The taste of charred oil was so strong it totally overwhelmed the cornmeal and spices. I decided the best course of action was to forgo the breading altogether. Which lead to cracking it open with my fork and prying the whole thing off. Quite the sight, I’m sure, since the chef came over and asked me if there was a problem with my dish followed with “you’re making me look bad”.
No, sir. I would say that since we chose this restaurant for our Mother’s Day celebration and the food and staff failed– YOU made us look bad.
CreoLA
344 El Camino Real
San Carlos, CA 94070
(650) 654-0882
“Shrimp CreoLa” / Sautéed jumbo shrimp atop our shrimp and crawfish stuffing, laced with a smoked tomato beurre blanc
“Big Easy” / Pan blackened Drum/Redfish brushed with Dijon and laced with a ribbon of hollandaise, Sprinkled with almonds, served with vegetables and red potatoes
“Catfish Belle Chasse” / Farm raised catfish, cornmeal battered and flash fried, served with jalapeno tartar sauce, sauce Choron, mashed potatoes and vegetables
