Anti-Valentine's lunch at Ponderossa

FoodblogWolfdog-friendlyWhere we ate well

15 Feb

Lucy and I had planned to spend a quiet Valentine's evening in the cozy surroundings of the empty Rocky cottage, but in the end several climbers arrived at the accommodation and there was more than enough work. While I jumped to take out the goods, Lucy made pancakes, which filled the entire cottage with a scent that even the climbers couldn't resist. The next morning I started thinking about how to make our own (anti)Valentine.

We left the cottage relatively late, we couldn't catch the bus home, and thanks to that, we came up with the idea - we'll have lunch in Tatranská Lomnica. Since we had been craving a good piece of meat for a long time, the choice was clear. Ponderossa.

On the way from the cable car, we stopped at Kredenček, a small and very pleasant cafe near the railway station in Tatranská Lomnica, to pass the time until the restaurant opened and to look at their facebook daily menu. My hot chocolate and Lucy's Matchachai came in handy and after a while we continued on.

Even though they had six dishes on the daily menu, our slinkies converged on a good juicy steak. So we had two questions on our tongues - whether they also prepare dishes from their menu during lunch and whether we can go inside with our Wolf. Both answers were positive, which made us very happy and we could start choosing.

Even though I'm not a beer drinker, even I couldn't resist the special offer of beer and we had a 14° honey special Bakalař. Lucy ordered beef steak, steak fries, green beans with bacon and garlic along with green pepper sauce. To her surprise, I ordered chicken breast supreme stuffed with mozzarella, wrapped in prosciutto with sauce and roasted potatoes.

We were warned that the dishes from the menu would take a little longer, but the wait was still relatively short and pleasant. The restaurant has a beautiful view of the park and the Tatra mountains in the background. In addition, we noticed that since opening, the two waitresses had not stopped, guests were coming and going, leaving behind empty plates. Finally, it was our turn. First, they ate the eyes, not only because of the serving of the food, but also because of the size of the portion of meat or side dishes. So we had nothing to complain about at the beginning and we even shared with the drooling Wolf.

Lucy likes bloody steaks, but she ordered medium rare and the doneness was just right. The steak was pleasantly seasoned with pepper and salt, although I still seasoned it to my liking, as I like stronger flavors. Otherwise, there was nothing to blame him for. Large, tender, cooked to order. The steak fries were good and crispy, but I felt they were semi-finished and not homemade. Homemade fries would give the meat and the whole meal even more "flavor". However, the same cannot be said about beans. Just ready, with plenty of fried bacon and garlic. The latter could be felt a little more and thanks to that they were great! Although Lucy and I are more used to creamier and stronger green pepper sauces, this one was a little different, but nevertheless complemented the whole meal well.

At first I thought I'd have a steak too, but I wanted to risk it and had a chicken breast. As it turned out, I did well despite Lucy's steak being excellent. The chef spared not only meat, but also mozzarella and prosciutto. I'll admit, I haven't had chicken in a restaurant in a long time. I like it, but in the end I always choose something else. Now that was a very pleasant surprise. The chicken breast was soft and juicy, just seasoned for most, I added salt and pepper as usual. To them, the sauce from the pastry slightly supplemented with a pattern of cream, the acidity of which perfectly complemented the food. The roasted potatoes made me happy. No boiled potatoes tossed in the deep fryer, but nice, unevenly golden chunks of potato. Also, I was glad that, like Lucy's fries, they weren't swimming in oil at the bottom of the bowl. Personally, I was curious about the portion size/deliciousness/price ratio. We were both very pleasantly surprised.

We ended up spending about an hour in the restaurant. During this time, Wolf lay by the table, occasionally looking at what was new, especially when another dog came in. The staff was nice and attentive, they even offered Wolf water, which is not always the rule.

We calmly took the bus home and agreed during the trip that we would definitely return to Ponderossa in the future. I would like to try not only another steak or maybe the daily menu, but also a hamburger, for example. If it is at least as good as steak and chicken breast, we have something to look forward to.

PS: It is best when Valentine's Day, February 14, is on a Saturday. There probably can't be a better Anti-Valentine's Day than Friday the 13th for the two of us 🙂