Emma Planque Review--great for a date night

27 SEP 2015 Update:  Since our review below (from January 2014), Emma Planque has moved to a street just past the American school.  

Emma Planque Review

Despite a rather 'watery cold start', Emma Planque delivers--we will be returning

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Came here for a date night with my stunning bride and we weren't disappointed.  

We made reservations here for a Thursday with slight trepidation since no one from the embassy here had been to Emma Planque--word on the street was that EP had recently opened.

Turns out that EP opened in November 2012 but the owner (a Malagasy woman I believe) said they only recently started advertising (see excerpt from a back issue of NOCOMMENT.MG at the bottom of this blog post)  Although our waiter said they had only been open a month and a half (but maybe he meant HE had only been working there that long).  

We pulled up to the restaurant which is located in a residential neighborhood adjacent to SIDI apartments.  It appears the property is likely dual-use and has a small parking lot with an attendant on the premises.  We were the only people there that evening and I wondered if it would have been open and staffed had we not called earlier in the day.  

DECOR:  The restaurant was cute but missing some finishing/finer touches.  There was a distracting strip of track lighting that one could replace with a chandelier.  The lights themselves could have used dimmer bulbs--if one happened to be pointed out at you--it could be borderline blinding.  But overall a very cute set up--the outdoor patio had some seating that looked very cozy.  

SERVICE:  Outstanding!  Our orders were taken in a timely manner.  Wine was served correctly and refilled attentively throughout the evening.  The waiters were friendly and the owner stopped by and checked on us.  

FOOD:  Only two sour notes.  The gazpacho--do not order it.  It was very watery and thin--unappetizing.  I would recommend they try the recipe here for future batches.   If you are a gazpacho lover try Plantation Cafe--my darling bride swoons for their spot-on gazpacho.  The white tuna sashami.  I was salivating when I saw this on the menu.  What I received was a healthy portion of partially still frozen sashimi.  The ice crystals actually crunched as I ate it--there was no buttery savoryness to it to say the least.  The soy sauce-ISH mixture lacked something too-maybe soy sauce.  The wasabi was good though.  

Don't let this two low points dissuade you though--the rest of our meal was excellent.  The amuse-bouche that the chef sent out was excellent.  I had a perfectly cooked t-bone--ish steak and my bride had the sesame shrimp--both were worth returning for.  

We shared I drank a Cote du Rhone (2010, they were out of the 2008 listed on the menu) which the perfect accompaniment to a steak a point.  Like most restaurants here the wine by the glass menu n'existe pas.  

Lastly, it's not food obviously but they did have a cigar menu which was a nice touch--I could see my self enjoying one on the outdoor patio while draped across one of their couches.  

BATHROOM: Small but clean.  Instead of paper towels they have cloth wash cloths which were clean but a few were probably ready for retirement.  

Amuse bouche

Don't order the gazpacho

jk

Address (whatever that means here):
lot 2 K 60ter A | Ivandry, Antananarivo, Madagascar
Phone: 20 22 427 76
Takes Credit Cards: ???  We paid cash.
Delivery: No.
Take Out:  ???
Parking Lot:  Yes.
Parking Attendant: Yes.
Outdoor Seating: Outdoor Covered Patio
High Chairs:  ???
Clean Bathrooms: Yes. But unisex and small. 
Languages: French  with some English Translation on the Menu.
Email:  emmaplanque261@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Emma-Planque/138963952936381
Website: ???
Hours: ???