The restaurant was heaving, which was definitely a good sign, and with an open-planned kitchen completely open to view by all diners, the hustle and bustle was mighty.
If anything the noise level may have been too raucous at times with the occasional crash of broken dishes interrupting our meal. The menu was varied and reasonable. On the wine front, the house options were priced at €5.50 a glass. The red French Cabernet Sauvignon and the Argentinean Shiraz were chosen, each very easily drinkable. On the food front, we opted to share a starter of Garlic Pizzettes with herb oil, sea-salt and rosemary. These were delicious, crispy and flavoursome and the two pizzettes were plenty for four people, and reasonable at €6.
We all went for pizzas for our main course, with the 'Parsley, garlic oil, mozzarella, sliced potatoes, rosemary, sea-salt and parmesan' one choice selected. This alternative pizza choice (potatoes on a pizza?) came in at €12 and by all means looked intriguing - wholly white minus any tomato base. The potatoes were impeccably flavoured but the lack of signature tomatoes did feel peculiar.
Two of us went for the 'Tomato, mozzarella, roasted red peppers, pine nuts, goats cheese and basil pesto' pizza, though with added pepperoni on mine in an effort to chose at least one stockish dish. The goats cheese and pesto combination was delicious, with one plate scraped clean, although the added richness of the pepperoni ensured it wasn't mine! The pizza was €14, with €2 extra for the meat.
Owing to the vast portions most of us were unable to finish our meals, so we initially thought dessert would be out. However, a peek at the menu changed our minds. We ordered two of the chocolate brownies and ice-cream to share for €7 each. They were colossal as well as scrumptious - the ideal amalgamation.
With the bill being settled at €20 each we came away hugely contented with our afternoon's lunch jaunt. read more