Restaurant Review: Te Komiteti

Te Kometeti has a lot going for it. The smart bistro on the Qamil Hoxha restaurant row is the kind of place I could see frequenting with little pretense for simple, elegant meals.

It occupies that sadly lacking nexus of casual and class, and enjoys a well-deserved reputation as one of Prishtina’s best lunch spots — with exceptional sandwiches.

And if it weren’t for some rather basic execution issues, Te Kometeti would deserve an equally enthusiastic endorsement for dinner, too.

On my visit, the single-page menu had just seven starters and seven main courses. This was a refreshing departure from the common jack-of-all-trades, master of none menus that permeate the local dining scene. I’m always more than happy to let the kitchen to handle as much decision-making as possible.

Most of the starters sounded a bit on the heavier side both in price and substance, including options such as grilled king prawns (7.50 euro) and spinach and ricotta tortellini (4.90 euro). So I went with the mixed salad (3.50 euro), given that spring stood a good chance of yielding some excellent pro- duce. From a creativity and freshness standpoint, Te Kometeti’s salad did not disappoint.

The components were largely separated, with sections of cabbage slaw, green-leaf lettuce, kidney beans, topped with slices of tomato and cucumber. Their deliciousness seemed to reflect care by the kitchen to pick top-notch vegetables.

It’s a shame, however, that they were swimming in an excessively oily dressing. I found some solace in glass of the light, dependable Castillo de Liria white wine from Spain (2.50 euro).

I was immediately drawn to the chicken for the main event.

Eschewing the temptations a couple of fish specials and a pork chop, the two poultry dishes bore more creative hallmarks at least in description.

Faced with chicken breast with sautéed carrots and porcini sauce (7.60 euro) and a half-bird roasted in piri-piri  — or chilli — sauce, with mashed potatoes and piquant sauce (7.90 euro), my decision was easy.  Latter with came with promises juiciness and heat from the piri piri.

The chicken was a sight for sore eyes at it arrived slightly charred, resting on the potatoes and bright red piquant sauce.

I struggled to cut into the meat, which I initially attributed to dull cutlery. But in fact it was the chicken that was tough and a bit dry, the telltale signs of overcooking. Also absent was the promised heat from the piri piri.

I found greener pastures in the velvety mashed potatoes and the spicy piquant sauce, which partially made up for the chicken’s inadequacies.

At the waiter’s suggestion, I ordered “chocolate truffle” for dessert. While most definitely not the confection known as a truffle, what arrived was something special.

The large rectangle most closely resembled a torte: Creamy, held together with ground nuts and most importantly bursting with deep chocolate flavour.

I’ve come to expect very little from dessert in Kosovo let alone one involving chocolate, which usually is more of a colour than a flavour. But this was damn good and an exceptional finale to an uneven dinner.

Te Komiteti
Rr. Qamil Hoxha 5/2
038 24 96 63
Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Sundays, 10 a.m – 11 p.m.