In downtown Karlskrona there's a small little Italian place with the appropriate name Michelangelo. In the summer-time they also have an outdoor patio seating area that complements the rather small indoor restaurant. Wooden walls and quite dark (that unfortunately due to the lack of cloth makes the dining area a bit loud/echoing), the interior rather breathes of history and genuineness than the modern approach, a little bit like stepping back in time restaurant-wise, and that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. On the contrary, Michelangelos primary focus is genuine cooking with big and bold flavors without the fancy shenanigans. This latest outing was with my father, his partner Maggan, myself and our youngest son Isak. We were quickly seated and attended to and started going over the menus.
All of decided on Gamberoni al piccanti for starter - fried scampi in garlic, chili and parsley with salad. The scampi was perfectly cooked, translucent in the middle and still moist with nice hint of chili and garlic. The salad though was sorely lacking any kind of finesse or skill. I know Italian salads and I love them both for their simplicity and amazing flavors. But a few green leaves with sloppy chopped tomatoes and large bits of raw red onion doesn't fool anyone, in particular not me. I had the house white wine on the glass for the starter it was very bland without any structure or complexity. I really prefer a more sweet wine, perhaps a Riesling, that is a perfect match to delicate seafood. But no, this didn't work.
For main course all of us once again decided on the same dish, their honey glazed lamb roast beef with roasted potatoes, red wine jus, and sautéed vegetables. We also ordered an Italian bottle of red wine (can't remember what it was) but the wine was good. Though the food was the highlight! Succulent and tender roast beef, beautiful vegetables, crispy potatoes. The only minor flaw was that the red wine jus was too sweet, I like the sauce to have more bite and thus complement both the vegetables and the meat better. But I'm getting nitpicky here, the food is good and I'll be more than happy to come back and taste another little piece of Italy. read more