“A lovely bright room, pristine tablecloths and settings, scrubbed floorboards and friendly staff.” Ah, isn’t the way Leslie Williams describes the first impressions of Nonna Valentina just exactly the way you want a classic Italian restaurant to look and feel? Everything in its right place, so bring on the food: “Bruschetta is toasted, garlic-rubbed Nonna’s bread with lots of chopped sweet tomato: a perfect appetite whetter. The fresh mushroom and truffle ravioli with salted butter and Parmigiano jus offers fresh silky pasta with rich Parmesan aromas and flavours: delicious. Red cabbage and wine risotto came with strips of deep-fried red cabbage on top, unctuous and quite soft carnaroli rice, this was very rich, with the cabbage adding both sweetness and a touch of umami, and the red wine jus smeared around the plate was a delicious, bitter little kick. Very good. A carafe of house wine is a light cabernet from the North East”
And that’s the Nonna Valentina formula for taking two stressed out people, and turning them into happy bunnies, via the gift of great, precise, smart Italian cooking.
