Although “Cafe des Amis”:http://www.cafedez.com/ was literally just across the road from our Canterbury hotel, it had been recommended by a friend and a table booked in advance. It’s highly likely we’d have ignored it as it was covered in scaffolding, although a large banner proclaimed they were still open.
Our hearts sank as we entered at 8pm and found a noisy, throbbing restaurant. So, it was with great relief when we were shown through to a quieter room just off the main one, where we were given a corner table with bench seating. It was even more a relief when a girl on the next table left as she was a ‘jiggler’ and her constantly bouncing leg reverberated along the seating. We had no one next to us on either side and so had a delightfully pleasant dining experience.
Despite its name and French connotations, this Café des Amis is a Mexican restaurant with typical favourites on the “menu”:http://www.cafedez.com/pdf/CDA_menu.pdf. As we’d had a packet of crisps with an aperitif in the hotel, we decided to skip starters and head straight for mains – a pork enchilada and a chicken burrito with a bottle of French Sauvignon Blanc from the “drinks menu.”:http://www.cafedez.com/pdf/CDA_drinks.pdf
A chilled bottle of tap water was provided, so it was a little disappointing that the tumblers were straight from the dish washer and warm.
The food quickly arrived and as we were very hungry, we forgot to take photographs. However, the one of our empty plates shows how much we enjoyed the food.
However, the dishes weren’t huge, and we decided to share a pudding, something we don’t normally do. The individual mango cheesecake with strawberry coulis was a little bland and not as ‘home-made’ as I hoped for £6.50.
The décor was loud and bright with interesting art work on the walls and the wooden tables had a distressed modern look. Candles were lit on the tables as the evening wore on. Service was excellent with the young girls being attentive and chatty but very professional.
Our bill came to £47 + tip.
When we left the restaurant, we found the other room was still as loud and busy, so felt we’d been very lucky.
This is a sister restaurant to Café du Soleil.
