In many ways Café on 2, a.k.a. CO2, is a victim of its location. Despite its best efforts you just can’t escape the feeling that you’re dining in a hotel lobby; the soundless TVs in the neighboring lounge area and the giant fire escape doors certainly don’t help. That’s not to say they haven’t tried. There’s sleek lighting, glass screens, a nice private dining area and an open kitchen so you can appreciate the chefs at work. The menu covers Thai, Mediterranean and even some fusion—i.e., tasty Thai spicy pizza, fresh and crispy from the pizza oven. This mix of styles does mean a slightly hit and miss meal. The pan seared sea scallops is unassuming; the Cajun sauce is light, the asparagus crisp but the scallops disappointingly chewy. The salads also flatter to deceive: they’re big and fresh, but the parmesan cheese basket overpowers their Park salad and the French vinaigrette is oddly sweet and fruity. On a tight budget? Available for both lunch and dinner, their current four courses (app, soup, main and dessert) offer is appealing and has a good range of dishes to choose from. The River Prawns, with spinach and ricotta rice is a highlight. The soft white cheese and spinach marry perfectly with the rice to make up, just, for the fact you only get one prawn—it is big and juicy. On the downside, skip the bouillabaisse. There’s no French bread, the broth is watery and prawns really don’t belong in this dish. For mains, the recommended sea bass comes on a bed of mushrooms with the chefs own salsa. It’s a good piece of fish but a lone anchovy can’t counteract the overly sweet salsa. The grilled chicken with a mole sauce of dark chocolate and herbs is a better choice. Desserts continue this schizophrenic journey with Greek dishes like the ekmek—a raisin roll with honey whipped cream, sitting alongside mango ice cream. Overall CO2 tries hard to be likeable, the staff are attentive and well clued up and the menu tries to offer some interesting choices. But we could do with a little more soul from both our food and our surroundings. Corkage B500.
