Alberto's

Alberto’s (Gompertstraat)

The first foray of the Snootie Foodies was a trip to Alberto’s on the Gompertstraat.  We’d heard rumors of a Mexican restaurant having opened which served tacos and nachos complete with guacamole….. woohooo….  There was some serious excitement amongst the Snoodies at the prospect of serious Mexican food.
Unfortunately…. the Snoodies were to be disappointed – but before we get into that lets set the scene.
Alberto’s is part of a small strip of shops with parking.  It looks very un-Surinamese (the designated parking and all).  The restaurant offers inside and outside seating.
A refrigerated case, inside, held coconuts already cold along with a variety of delicious looking desserts.  There is seating inside at high tables with bar stools – we sat outside as those chairs looked more comfortable.  The seating outside is on a very quaint terrace next to one of the bigger canals with extremely comfortable chairs and small round tables.  The setting is very nice, the flower pots, the tables, the view – almost European.
The menu is still very limited as only a handful of featured items are actually available.  Two of the Snoodies enjoyed ice cold coconuts, which are split open after the coconut water is all finished; while the third enjoyed a freshly mixed passion fruit/cherry juice – yum yum.
The food – we shared the appetizer platter which featured nachos with chicken and chicken wings; there was a small saucer with guacamole-like salad and some dip sauce.  The nachos had a mixture of what appeared to be frozen mixed vegetables on it, along with cheese, chicken strips and some sauce.  It was very nice – unexpected, but definitely very good.  The vegetables went nicely with everything as did the sauce.  The chicken strips (grilled chicken) were also very tasty.  The only serious minus was the fact that the nacho chips appeared to be Doritos (??!!) – interesting…..  Some fresh crisp nacho chips would have taken this dish all the way.
The chicken wings were okay – it was unclear whether the dipping sauce, which appeared to be a sort of honey mustard sauce, was meant for the chicken.  The wings had a nice bite to them.
The guacamole was a disappointment – it appeared to have been mixed with some cream-based sauce…. maybe some yoghurt; none of the Snoodies appreciated the flavor very much.  It would have been nice to have seen some fresh chopped tomatoes, cilantro, onions, and avocado with lime – simple and delicious.
For the main course the Snoodies ordered beef tacos, beef burritos and a hamburger (one of us decided to play it safe).
The tacos were so so – the biggest complaint being the stale boxed flavor of the actual tacos.  Recommendation – make fresh tacos or re-fry/re-bake the boxed tacos to give the appearance of freshness.  The burrito was a simple wrap – a fairly small portion.  The burrito came with french fries – there portion size was such that the plate was basically covered with fries with the small wrap on the side…. makes you wonder which was the side item and which was the main course.  Taste-wise, both items were fine.
The hamburger on the other hand was excellent.  At no extra charge, sautéed onions, mushrooms, cheese and bacon were added to make an excellent hamburger.
At the end of the night, the Snoodies were too full for dessert and settled for scooping out the coconuts as dessert.

Score:
Ambiance – 4 (had to subtract a points for traffic and occasional whiffs of sewage smells)
Food presentation – 4
Flavor – 3.5 (the hamburger deserves a 4.5)
Customer service – 3.75 (our waitress seemed unfamiliar with the items on the menu, but she was friendly).
Overall score: 3.8

Final words: Will definitely continue and try some of the other items on the menu once they become available.