This restaurant is set to become a landmark in the port area. The welcome is perfect: you feel as though they were waiting for you, and such warmth is greatly appreciated when you go through into the large, comfortable, well-lit space, where they serve Italian dishes that are varied and appealing. And high in quality. Dishes like a 'vitello tonnato' (veal with tuna sauce) that is very good and well-presented, gnocchis 'a la romana', and focaccia that they give you as an appetiser, served with an excellent oil. Pasta, obviously, is one of their strong points. They all sound delicious, especially the spaghetti with lobster and chilli, and risotto with saffron, Iberian pork cheek and 'gremolata', a mix of parsley, garlic and lemon peel.
The day we went, on the menu there was 'orecchiette' with broccoli and stracciatella cheese, but we were a bit unlucky because they slightly overcooked the pasta. They say they do it like that to meet local tastes, but pasta has to be al dente. It's as though someone ordered a paella with ketchup in a Spanish restaurant in London.
Among the main courses, there's an excellent 'cotoletta' (breaded veal cutlet); the so-called 'orecchia di elefante' (elephant's ear) is on the bone and part of the fillet reaches impressive proportions. The coating is very good and it's an excellent dish.