Confetti's
4751 S. Holladay Blvd., Holladay ; 801-272-9111
(see
map)
Many Mediterranean dishes on the menu, encompassing specialties from Italy, North Africa and the Middle East.
| Overall |
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| Food |
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| Mood |
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| Service |
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| Kid-friendly |
YES |
| Noise |
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Cuisine: Mediterranean, Middle Eastern
Price: $$
Hours: M-S, 5-9:30 p.m.
Liquor: Full Service
Reservations: --
Accepts:    
Recommended Dishes: Hummus, baba ghanouj, spaghetti with meatballs.
January 18, 2006
Confetti's takes the party out of Mediterranean dining
By Mary Brown Malouf
Correction: In a restaurant review of Confetti's restaurant, the owner was incorrectly identified as Tony Tadros. The restaurant is owned by his father, Raouf Tadros.
Be careful what you wish for. You might not like it when you get it.
My mother's -- and everyone else's -- repetitious words of wisdom echoed in my head when I entered Confetti's in Holladay. The owner, Tony Tadros, wrote a very nice letter, complimenting The Tribune's reviews and requesting one. Besides, the restaurant was long overdue for a review. So here I was, on time for a midweek reservation, in the lobby of Tadros' restaurant, and it smelled funny. Even my teenage dining companions noticed.
Oh, dear.
First impressions are important. Confetti's, its name in lights over the dead plants by the front door, looks like a second-tier private club from the outside. The lobby, with its mirrored reception desk, looks like a day-spa's check-in area. Then there was the funny smell -- like strong cleanser.
We were ushered into a small dining room, one of two that opens off the lobby. Unfortunately, this one has only a makeshift wall between it and the kitchen. That meant we heard snatches of kitchen conversation, running water and a rumbling ice machine all night. The room, its white-clothed tables attended by stern tall-backed chairs, was plain to the point of starkness. Besides our table, only one other was occupied in our dining room both nights we visited.
Although there was a private party being celebrated in the other dining room, the overall effect was slightly dismal. Some of the bleakness may have been post-holiday pall and some may have been more directly seasonal: There is a courtyard hidden by heavy drapes and, in spring, dining outside under the huge cottonwood might make me think twice about the ambience.
But, to sum up my recommendations about Confetti's interior atmosphere, I suggest some color and an upbeat sound system.
And maybe a pan of onions sizzling on the stove to cover up the scrubbed odor.
Service, though, especially on one evening, was terrific. Our server was a real pro who took her job seriously. She was knowledgeable, efficient but not intrusive, friendly but not familiar. Too bad she did not have more to work with.
Confetti's menu is Mediterranean, leaning toward Middle Eastern, a cuisine that transcends political boundaries. That is, broadly, Syrian food is much like Persian food, which is much like Israeli food: grilled meat on a stick, flavored yogurt sauces, pungent salads and puréed and stuffed vegetables. I have married into this cuisine twice and merged with it more successfully than the men whose mothers introduced me to it.
So I was thrilled by the hummus bi tahini ($6.99), an appetizer choice. Hummus has been adopted by the granola gourmets and is now made from all kinds of legumes with all sorts of seasonings. Generally, it is about as appetizing as wallpaper paste -- a grainy, mouth-coating concoction.
But this hummus was the real deal. I could tell by looking at its glossy swirled top, pooled with olive oil and reddened with ground red pepper. Its maker had been generous with the tahini and lemon and liberal with the olive oil, so the chickpeas emulsified into a satiny, mayonnaiselike mixture, a glorification of mere chickpeas.
Baba ghanouj ($6.99), another mezze mainstay on Confetti's menu, also was good -- charred eggplant, again mashed with lemon and garlic, presented as a rustically chunky spread. House-made bread would have been preferable to the slightly stale pita triangles we used to scoop it up, but the dip overcame its carrier. Mushroom caps, another starter, stuffed with asiago cheese and pesto ($7.99), were reminiscent of cocktail party fare. Speaking of cocktail parties, smoked Scottish salmon ($10.99) is inexplicably on the menu. What part of the Mediterranean is that, exactly?
However, the Moroccan couscous ($16.99), a take on the traditional tagine, was a mush of reheated chicken breast, chickpeas and vegetables over a mound of bland couscous and lacked any of the contrasting fruit and spice that distinguishes North African cooking.
The falafel sandwich ($8.99), round chickpea fritters overfried to dryness and served open-face on a pita, suffered from underseasoning, too, even when you piled on the tahini sauce, which needed lemon.
Spaghetti with meatballs ($14.99) made all of us sit up and take notice. The five tangerine-sized spheres on top of al dente spaghetti had the delicate texture that indicates a light hand in the kitchen, lots of parsley and the use of more than just beef in the mix.
Sadly, spaghetti marinara ($13.99), although ample, was dull -- if you go to Confetti's with kids, this is the dish for them.
Unfortunately, the kofta ($9.99) -- ground beef and minced onions charcoal-cooked on a kebab in this case, although the term is used interchangeably in this country with kibbe and sometimes shwarma -- suffered from overcooking and underseasoning.
Confetti's "favorite pasta," a mountain of angel hair, feta, sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, basil and Alfredo sauce ($17.99), was one of the few dishes where the seasonings weren't asleep.
The Mediterranean salad ($6.99), the restaurant's version of tabouleh, one of the world's brightest-tasting salads, was dull -- the balance of parsley and bulgur was right, but there was too little lemon and the parsley had the slightly slimy feel it gets when it has been dressed too long.
Desserts, although un-Mediterranean, were a final bright spot- traditional Key lime pie ($5.99) and chocolate macadamia mousse cake ($6.49), the latter a surprisingly original, lightly unctuous wedge of chocolate foam.
But a good dessert and a good server don't make a meal.
Altogether, what was missing from the dining experience at Confetti's -- on the plate and in the place -- was exactly the feeling of "joie de vivre" the name promises: spices, color, vividness, celebration and good times.
Tribune's rating system
Overall rating
1 star Good
2 stars Very good
3 stars Excellent
4 stars Extraordinary
Entree price
$ Entree under $10
$$ $10-$18
$$$ $18-$25
$$$$ Above $25
Restaurant Noise
1 bell Quiet (under 65 decibles)
2 bells Can talk easily (65-70)
3 bells Talking somewhat difficult (70-75)
4 bells Raised voices (75-80)
A bomb Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)
The Tribune covers the cost of all meals at reviewed restaurants. Star ratings are based on a minimum of two visits. Ratings are updated continually based on at least one revisit. There is no connection between reviews and advertising.
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