Hit and miss northern Italian cuisine!
This restaurant has been on our “maybe” list for a number of years – many great reviews / high ratings but based on their sample menu, we were not sure if we would enjoy the dinner offerings. Having recently spent two amazing weeks touring northern Italy, my wife and I decided to finally try this restaurant to celebrate my birthday. One word can sum up our experience … disappointing!
Here is what we ordered:
– Negroni / mocktail Negroni as well as two glasses of wine
– Polpette / Beets & Blue Cheese
– Butternut Squash Mezzaluna / Uni Orecchiette
– Zeppola alla Tiramisu (shared)
My wife’s mocktail was very good but my drink was not enjoyable – overly bitter and did not even come close to the real deal in Italy which we drank several times when we were there. My glass of white wine (from Piedmont) was very good – my wife’s Lambrusco was not its traditional red colour – it was rosé (unexpected but still good).
The polpette were ordinary at best – not much taste. Also, there was no cheese sprinkled on the polpette (which is the way the dish is usually served). When my wife asked for some cheese, our waitress gave her a small bowl of grated cheese. It was tasteless and was clearly not Parmigiano Reggiano. When asked, the waitress did not know what type it was and had to ask someone in the kitchen – she later told us that it was Grana Padano. We know both cheeses very well and it did not taste like either one. Honestly, we were appalled! Parmigiano Reggiano is a northern Italy staple – a fine dining restaurant claiming to be a “northern Italian kitchen” should be ashamed serving some cheaper substitute.
The beets / blue cheese dish was very good – although the portion was extremely small and oddly covered with endive leaves. Since it was about the same price as a “primi”, I would have expected more than a few dollops of blue cheese on a few paper-thin slices of beets.
Before ordering, the waitress told me that the mezzaluna was served in a brown butter sage sauce – so, I was expecting it to be somewhat on the savoury side. However, the sauce was way too sweet for my liking (similar to brown sugar) and the dish was not very warm. My wife’s uni orecchiette was excellent.
The dinner did end on a good note as the zeppola was very good and we were not charged for it (presumably because it was a birthday celebration or maybe due to our negative feedback to the waitress).
The presentation of the dishes was very good and the ambiance was cozy (except for the odd music selection).
This was an expensive dinner that should have been consistently much better at that price. We will not be going back.
