Time Out rating:
<strong>Rating: </strong>4/5
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Time Out says
Thu Sep 13 2012
‘Cicchetti’, like ‘sliders’, ‘confit’ or ‘fondant’, is one of those abused culinary terms that has moved so far from its starting point it’s now near-meaningless. Originally, the expression applied to tapas-like snacks served in the wine bars of Venice; from there the word, if not the dishes, migrated to the US, where Italian-Americans turned it into something more sophisticated than mini portions of sandwiches, olives or boiled eggs. The term then gained new currency when Russell Norman introduced it to his ‘small plates’ menu at Polpo in Soho in 2009. Polpo’s popularity and hip-factor has ensured the word has spread – even the Zizzi pizza and pasta chain now has sandwich boards outside the restaurants advertising its ‘cichetti’ menu.
Going forward, as the marketeers might say, calling your new restaurant Cicchetti might seem a good way to roll out a concept. Yet this elegant, slickly professional restaurant is not the product of a focus group, PR consultants or trend advisers. It is the second branch of a new experiment from the family-run San Carlo and Signor Sassi restaurants – the first branch of Cicchetti has already opened in Manchester.
We were impressed by the metres of smooth, shiny marble, and even smoother Italian service: this was a great antidote to the brusque style of too many recent new openings.The place was full of smiling Italian customers, dining with their families, being well-looked after by smiling Italian staff.
The dishes we tried were beautifully presented, such as the crab spaghetti served spilling out of a spider crab shell – a small but rich dish, flavoured with saffron in the cream sauce. Octopus salad was tender, sardines freshly grilled. The selection of breads with olive oil were excellent, and even the baked Italian white peach was, dare we say it, a peach of a dessert.
In October 2012, some weeks after we reviewed this restaurant, they announced they were teaming up with the celebrity chef Aldo Zilli to help promote the restaurant.
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