Restaurants

Renate and Raffaele Giacobazzi – owners of Giacobazzi deli, which specialises in made-on-the-premises pasta – have opened this very welcome restaurant across the road from their shop. Behind the smart chocolate and black frontage lies a beach-house-style eaterie with skylight, plywood chairs and white linen: a relaxed setting for dishes from Emilia-Romagna and beyond. The well-balanced menu offers a satisfying mix of the unusual and familiar, pitching the likes of rabbit saltimbocca, and pike with capers, anchovies, parsley and garlic alongside classic grilled calf’s liver with balsamic vinegar and onions. Polenta appears in both starters and mains. You can expect three or four dishes of pasta and gnocchi, plus a similar number of sides. A deli-owner’s eye for sourcing has resulted in ice-cream from Oddono’s, and a sizeable cheeseboard featuring organic Sicilian quince paste. Such delights made the dreary slices of ciabatta (the only disappointment in our meal) all the more surprising. Prices are quite high for this style of restaurant, but perhaps not for this part of town.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009