Great food, service, conviviality and grappa: I would be happy to have this fine neighbourhood restaurant in my own backyard
You may be familiar with the saying “Don’t in your own back yard”, which as a restaurant critic is a potential hazard of the job. But on this occasion, it is not my patch that’s under scrutiny. Instead I have headed to the decidedly posherand am joined for dinner by my dear friend and local resident Ernie Whalley, former editor of Food & Wine magazine and former Sunday newspaper restaurant critic. So any fallout will be his to deal with.
The menu is divided into spuntini , smalls, large and dessert, with the expected focus on Italian dishes. Two specials are chalked up on a board. The wine list is reasonably short with quite a few wines by the glass. A few bottles hit in around the €40 mark, with pricier options such as Prunotto Barolo at €150 and Tignanello Chianti Classico Riserva at a punchy €201. Spritz and beer are also available.
For mains, I opt for one of the daily specials, baked orzo with cockles and red mullet . Red mullet is highly prized on the Continent, known in France as rouget. It is one of Rick Stein’s favourite fish – in particular, as he told me a few years ago, the red mullet landed in Cork at the end of the summer. Served in a scalding hot cast-iron skillet, the mullet sits on top of cockles and orzo in a most beautiful shellfish sauce with a touch of anise from Sambuca.
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