NUMBER FOUR Restaurant Review

Tonight four of us dined at NUMBER FOUR restaurant. We reserved and sat upstairs by the fireplace. Very warm and cozy. We were presented with the Menus. We hadn't been there in awhile. The Menu is impressive in terms of creations. My friend ordered a bottle of wine. I know it was Merlot, but don't know the brand or the cost. Two of us ordered appetizers. I ordered Caesar Salad and he ordered Oysters Rockerfeller. He said the Oysters were excellent. My Caesar Salad was large enough for two and was the best Caesar Salad I've ever had.

Then we ordered our main meals. One person ordered the Pargo, one person ordered the Ribs, one person ordered the Paella and I had a Filet Mignon. Everyone said their meals were excellent and we were all very pleased. The Paella was very moist and contained clams, mussels, shrimp, calamari, chorizo and pargo. The Filet Mignon was 8 oz. and without a doubt the best I have had in Ajijic. Yes, better than Laurent which I like, better than Hacienda which I like, better than Bruno's and far better than Tango could ever be. Tango is mediocre by comparison.

The portion size of every meal was excellent. We ordered coffee and two people shared desserts afterward. The service was impeccable.

We highly recommend that you visit NUMBER FOUR restaurant.
Donato Guerra # 4
Tel: 766 1360

I totally agree with John's post.

Two things that he didn't mention...the actual presentation of the food is eye candy to the beholder and wets the appetite...and I love an open kitchen in a restaurant. He was on the "second" floor though and may not have noticed.

BTW John, how'd you negotiate those stairs???

Sorry, I missed that on the exquisite presentation and plate design. Negotiated the stairs OK one at a time, as they are wide treads on one side. I put Number 4 on our Bi Monthly Dinner group list and for my Birthday so I can feel special.

What were the prices John?

CanuckBob wrote:What were the prices John?

That one is in the same league as asking what the dock rent for your yacht will be.

CanuckBob wrote:What were the prices John?

The Caesar Salad was $ 75., large enough for two. The Oysters Rockerfeller was $ 110. The Pargo and the Candian Ribs were $ 180. The Paella was $ 200. The 8 oz Filet mignon was $ 250. I know it's high, but you have to consider quality of food, portion size, presentation, service and atmosphere. We didn't care about price, as we were guests of our favorite Canadian couple who visits here only 8 weeks a year.

gringal - It's great for special occasions. It's not for those looking for lunch deals at low prices. People who live here have to realize that food costs, electricity, gas and rent are always getting higher and restauranteurs must increase prices each year.

Last time I was there food was great, however a tablespoon of mashed potato's was not pleasing to the eye for the price paid

johninajijic wrote:We didn't care about price, as we were guests of our favorite Canadian couple who visits here only 8 weeks a year.

WOW......and you were just dissing Canadians for being cheap a few days ago. How the worm has turned..........

Jim W wrote:Last time I was there food was great, however a tablespoon of mashed potato's was not pleasing to the eye for the price paid

Guess they have changed. I would guess 6 tablespoons of mashed sweet potatoes.

Nice to dine on someone elses dime, eh John?

CanuckBob - I don't know if I really consider them Canadians as one was born in Norway and one in Sweden. That was a general statement about Canadians. we have a very generous Canadian couple in our community.

David wrote:Nice to dine on someone elses dime, eh John?

I can't even make an intelligent restaurant review without some ahole making a sarcastic uncalled for remark. Your a total frigging jerk for saying that. I guess your jealous. The fact is that they take us out 2 or 3 times every time they're here and they enjoy that. In fact they take out all the other couples in this community too. Definitely THE MOST generous people I've ever met, unlike many of the me me me people of Ajijic. And we have them for dinner at our house all the time. MYOFB.

johninajijic wrote:CanuckBob - I don't know if I really consider them Canadians as one was born in Norway and one in Sweden. That was a general statement about Canadians. we have a very generous Canadian couple in our community.

....And you'll soon have another amigo.

First they were Canadians and now they are a Swede and a Norwegian. Take note that John's friend ordered a bottle of wine and they both were apparently the only ones who ordered appetizers.

Did anyone catch the fact that John ordered the most expensive entree? No wonder they request separate tabs when going out with the elite dining group! Works a bit different when someone else is paying. And he has the audacity to generalize that Mexicans and Canadians are cheap!

ROTFLMAO! Your "Canadian" couple are a Swede and a Norwegian?...no wonder they don't think there's much snow in Toronto!

Price...probably works out to about $1,000 pesos a couple and, personally, I think it's a place for special occasions or date night. When we went, three of us were celebrating our birthdays and the other couple were also celebrating their anniversary. So, our bill for four came to $2000 pesos...a caesar salad, a shrimp cocktail, oysters rockefeller, an arugula salad...entrees 1 risotto, 1 sea bass, 1 red snapper, 1 sticky ribs...two pecan tarts with ice cream for dessert (and four forks)...Faith had two glasses of wine, the guys had virgin caesars and I had a diet coke.

Entertainment and dinner dancing...priceless.

...and how come nobody picked up on my "wets" the appetite?...I was literally drooling.

John, I never let visitors pay. NEVER. It's a simple custom where I come from, the visitor never pays. You're the host ............ oh never mind, you wont' get it.

This is not about being cheap, or not. It's not even about "special occasions". It's about how much is that food, atmosphere, etc. worth to you. Personally, I can afford to eat wherever I want to. I don't find what Four has to offer worth what they charge. YMMV. That's the meaning of the "thrift" gene. It's about cost/value.

If you're happy with what you get at Number Four or Laurent, be happy. No argument from me. There is no way to define "perception of value". I used to live in an area where people lined up for months to get a meal at "The French Laundry" at an average cost of $200 US. Who knows what they were perceiving?

For a "special occasion" the joy is whatever the person or persons gets the most kick out of for said occasion. Going out to dinner/dancing may be a joy for some or a PITA for others. Depends.

ferret wrote:ROTFLMAO! Your "Canadian" couple are a Swede and a Norwegian?...no wonder they don't think there's much snow in Toronto!

Price...probably works out to about $1,000 pesos a couple and, personally, I think it's a place for special occasions or date night. When we went, three of us were celebrating our birthdays and the other couple were also celebrating their anniversary. So, our bill for four came to $2000 pesos...a caesar salad, a shrimp cocktail, oysters rockefeller, an arugula salad...entrees 1 risotto, 1 sea bass, 1 red snapper, 1 sticky ribs...two pecan tarts with ice cream for dessert (and four forks)...Faith had two glasses of wine, the guys had virgin caesars and I had a diet coke.

Entertainment and dinner dancing...priceless.

...and how come nobody picked up on my "wets" the appetite?...I was literally drooling.

I picked up on it, but then I am a genuine Canadian.

David wrote:John, I never let visitors pay. NEVER. It's a simple custom where I come from, the visitor never pays. You're the host ............ oh never mind, you wont' get it.

Reread my post before you make a stupid post like the above. They are NOT my visitors. Just because they vacation here 8 weeks a year. They are not visiting me. They own a house in por Community. They could buy every house in our Community and not see it in their wealth. Haven't you heard of it making them happy to take others out to dinner?

When I had visitors to my home, I never let them pay.

Different strokes for different folks. When we are guests in someone's home, we always take them out for a special dinner as a gesture of appreciation. While we are guests in their home, we also pitch in with cooking and cleaning. We don't want to be a burden and we'd also like to be invited back.

ferret - That sounds about right for $ 2,000. pesos and you had music and dancing for Special Occasions. That's $ 500 per person or about $ 41. USD or CDN with an appetizer, entree, wine and dessert. NOT REALLY BAD. Why and you know the answer to this because that meal in Toronto would have been $ 80 - $ 100 CDN per person.

The residents of Ajijic just don't get why other restaurants have to raise their prices yearly because of ever increasing costs of food, electric, propane gas, rent and yes gasoline. Why gasoline? Because gasoline rises monthly and everything is transported by truck.

Get used to it folks coz the Mexican Gov't has pulled all subsidies on electric, propane and gasoline this year.

ferret wrote:Different strokes for different folks. When we are guests in someone's home, we always take them out for a special dinner as a gesture of appreciation. While we are guests in their home, we also pitch in with cooking and cleaning. We don't want to be a burden and we'd also like to be invited back.

Reread my post. They are not our guests. They own a home here in our Community. Because I take care of their home while they're mostly in Canada, they show their appreciation when they vacation here. We have them every year for Christmas Dinner and when their friends visit, we have them and the friends for dinner.

We haven't been in a while though we're planning a return once Galen's arm heals and they are able to put their show on. Totally agree with John's and Ferret's review of the place. The atmosphere, the service and the food are in a class by theirselves for this area and we go there for special occasions.

They must be doing something right, they're still here when a lot of their cheaper brethren have folded.