21|11|2004
It lends itself to proper Italian eating. A dish is what it says it is and no messing. It stands or falls on its basic integrity. And when these focussed dishes are as delicious as ours were, this is all you need to be perfectly satisfied."
"...we split a portion of taglierini with courgette and cream. That may sound boring until I tell you that the home-made pasta was consummately slippery and freshly eggy, the courgette just a minute or so past raw, the whole thing bound by reduced cream and freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. In fact, it was another lick-the-plate job. And so on to a secondo of truly memorable squid, delicate violet-coloured tentacles and bouncy white rings tender under their ever-so-light, rustling batter."
"I cannot think of a more captivating pudding than torta di pistacchio, a moist buttery cake dense with green pistachios. However, I think it is positively irresponsible to sell it to take away, downstairs in the café, where people like me have to walk by and try to resist its magnetic lure. This place is also heaven on earth for Italophile wine buffs, too. Stunning wines by the bottle, marked up a restrained £5 on shop prices, plus legendary wines such as Sassicaia and Gaja's Barbaresco by the glass."
Joanna Blythman