Restaurants

With its Tuscan earth-toned colour scheme, Enoteca Turi has a comfortable, well-padded tastefulness about – a bit like the customers it attracts. The daily specials on a menu which keeps an eye on the season are particularly appealing, like a main course of turbot ravioli with potato and fennel sauce. The pasta itself was perhaps a bit thick, but tender enough, with delicately flavoured stuffing and a gently creamy sauce. Sicilian-style rabbit was a gutsy counterpoint, the boned loin stuffed with the liver, breadcrumbs, pine nuts and raisins, served with sautéed red pepper, onion and celery. There’s real skill at work in the kitchen – and in the wine cellar. The owner is a learned aficionado of Italian wines and the list here is one of the best in the capital, a masterpiece of clear tasting notes and carefully curated (mostly Italian) bottles, ranging in price from frugal to blow-the-budget. Wines by the glass are recommended with each dish on the menu and the staff seem capable of making sensible wine suggestions too: there’s no excuse for ordering a mere glass of pinot grigio.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009