I haven't written a review in a LONG time and this restaurant did not have a page but it was so good I felt compelled to get the ball rolling.
The full review will be long and detailed but here's the tl;dr version:
No menus.
Full (3 hours) of flavor.
Can't lose!
For those who want the full canon here goes:
My family and I took a chance on this place tonight on our second to last night of a week long vacation in Málaga. We had been eating tapas and traditional fare all week and decided to give this quiet and quaint place a shot. It had been nearly empty all week leading us to wonder why and there was no review we could find - we decided to take a risk anyway.
The interaction at first was a little awkward as we arrived at 8pm before the restaurant truly opened - we were also asked to come back in 15 minutes as the chef was still not in (turns out he was still buying groceries for the meal!).
The server's English and our Spanish were just good enough to connect. As we got settled in we were provided with the wine list which is exclusively Italian and after asking some questions and making a selection we began our experience in earnest.
While there was another couple seated, the chef and server took the time to introduce themselves and explain that there was no menu and only 4 choices for main courses (tonight it was: mushroom risotto, penne amatriciana, sirloin steak and swordfish). They walked us through the choices and also informed us that of there was an antipasto dish of porchetta available that he would dress in oil with a side of fresh tomatoes and olives in oil, garlic and little chilli peppers - the chef even went so far as to show us the cut of meat - we were sold!
While there were four of us we opted to not to get the swordfish but we could try all three other options. The option for 1/2 risotto and 1/2 penne was something that we were informed was possible which two people did take advantage of.
As we waited for our food we were brought bread and complimentary grilled zucchini that had been expertly marinated with garlic, oil and spices. It was a precursor of what was to come...
The antipasto came and we were in heaven! The porchetta was cut so thin you could practically see through it and it melted in our mouthes. The tomatoes and olives were incredibly fresh. We used the bread to sop up all the juices and even requested a second serving of bread. We also ordered a second bottle of wine and continued on.
Each of the dishes were amazing! I had the sirloin that came in a tomato based sauce with capers, black and green olives and a slight kick from peppers. The pasta and risotto were homemade and the cooked to perfection - the mushroom risotto was not gooey but instead fluffy and flavorful. The full penne was perfectly al dente and the portion was perfectly sized. The tomato and meat sauce was perfectly zesty and covered the pasta without being the slight bit watery or runny. The two people who elected to get 1/2 and 1/2 even thought they received a tad too much food but we still finished it.
Sadly this didn't leave us with room for dessert or coffee...that was probably uncouth of us but we didn't know if we could make it home if we ate more!!!
All be told, we spent 3 hours (!!!) eating and drinking and enjoying our time together. At the time we left almost every other table was full and seemed to be enjoying their meals as much as we had. We shook hands with the waiter and chef and rolled ourselves home.
Il Termopolio opens late and was not a quick meal (our dishes came out simultaneously as other tables, one seated before us and two after) but for about 25€ each we had an incredible meal, 2 bottles of wine and fantastic experience...something that you just don't find in America! Absolutely worth it - so glad we stopped in! read more