Ristorante O’Puledrone, Sorrento (you heard it here first!)

Marina Grande, Sorrento

The old fishing village of Marina Grande in Sorrento is a hidden jewel, easily missed by travellers captivated by the heart of Sorrento; its main Piazza Torquato Tasso and Marina Piccola.

 

Those seeking solace from the bustle of tourists should take the 10 minute walk to Marina Grande, a working fishing port which has retained its rustic Italian charm. There’s a real sense of community with washing lines strewn from balconies and friends and families congregating by the beach.

 

View across the marina to a cafe over the sea (we didn’t eat here but it looks idyllic)

It was mid-May and out of season which will have played a part in the slower pace of Marina Grande. The beach front is made up of cafes and fish restaurants selling the day’s catch and we sat with a coffee watching the boats bob up and down peacefully. Routine everyday life was going on around us; the fishermen sat out in the sun untangling their nets from the morning’s work and a school class of children were guided hand in hand across the square.

 

Here I discovered the most incredible restaurant I’ve come across in long time and a pleasure I have to share with you. Ristorante O’Puledrone stands out from other restaurants on the marina – it is understated, a discreet stone building with barn doors opening out onto the cobbled road, minimalist tables and chairs and a white board that read; “Fresh fish daily. This restaurant is owned by a group of fishermen. Please ask about today’s catch”.

 

It opened for the first time only five weeks ago and is a cooperative of 8 local fishermen who supply restaurants around the marina and nearby shops. The fishermen set sail at 5am each morning to fish off the Amalfi Coast, most commonly bringing home prawns, calamari, sardine, tuna, swordfish, clams and mussels, seabass and other white fish.

 

Gaetano, one of the fishermen in the cooperative, expressed that the industry has been suffering for up to five years and opening a cooperative restaurant, whilst it took 2 years to gain permission from the authorities, will help them to seek another form of income. When they bring the catch in each day their chef gets first pick of the fare before the remainder is sold elsewhere. This is literally the best fish in Sorrento.

 

I ordered mussels with spaghetti and it was exquisite, tossed in garlic, tomatoes and chilli with huge juicy mussels. It sounds simple but it is quite possibly the tastiest simple I’ve ever eaten. Mum ordered fried fish of the day, a plate full of an unidentified white fish fried in a very light batter. It is a fish very common off these coasts, in between a sardine and whitebait. It might have a name, but the language barrier prevented us from getting to the bottom of it. Again, it was absolutely perfect.

 

The meal was very reasonably priced and the only discrepancy was mum and I debating whose meal was more delicious. If I have any regrets, it was discovering this place on the last day. I’d have done almost anything to take Gaetano up on the offer to join them at sea the next morning…

It’s the little things…

I recently visited a restaurant based on a recommendation from a friend at university (who also loves his food). The restaurant was Gusto in Cookridge and although it is a chain of nine restaurants, it doesn’t look it.

I found myself pulling up to an Italian haven of fairy lights and prettiness – very romantic and welcoming. It has a real Italian ristorante / bistro feel to it and they haven’t overlooked those little things that add value to the experience – the fairy lights, the candles, the hostess greeting you on entrance.

Gusto is a restaurant and bar and as we arrived early for our table, we were able to sit in the bar area and have a drink whilst we waited. I ordered a white wine (Pinot Grigio, Veneto) whilst my boyfriend, designated driver, went wild with some kind of fresh fruit juice (I guess we know who drew the short straw there). The wine was absolutely superb – apparently “honeydew and watermelon with a little minerality”, although I’m fairly sure I couldn’t have picked out those flavours without the description. At £6.80 for a 250ml glass of wine, it’s slightly higher than the average in Leeds, but definitely worth it.

The large restaurant was absolutely packed. I don’t think there was an empty table all night. I had expected it to be busy as I’ve tried to get in before and been told that the earliest table was 11pm! It’s clearly a popular place. Other diners were couples and friends of around the 40s and 50s age group – Dan and I were easily the youngest customers which is unusual for Leeds.

To start, I chose mussels steamed in a white wine, garlic and cream sauce with ciabatta (£6.95). The mussels were cooked very well and were delicious, however, I was disappointed with the sauce. It was watery and didn’t taste of a great deal. I imagine this was due to water coming out of the shells and diluting the sauce. However, the portion size was very generous and I still managed to clear the plate.

Dan had roasted garlic mushrooms in a cream sauce with prosciutto and grilled ciabatta (£5.75) and it was beautiful. If you aren’t a dairy lover like I am, you may have found it to be too rich but I thought it was just perfect. The prosciutto contributed intense, smokey flavours to the dish after I’d gobbled up my mussels, I proceeded to mop up Dan’s sauce with my ciabatta (fatty) – he definitely made a better choice than me.

The service was very attentive. I noticed out of the corner of my eye when our main courses were heading towards the table – the vigilant waiter, seeing that our cutlery hadn’t been replaced since our starter, hid around the corner with our dishes as a fellow waiter rushed over to replace our cutlery. True to form, our meals then emerged from behind the corner and arrived at the table.

For main course, I ordered romesco chicken salad with goat’s cheese, rocket and aged balsamic (£9.95). Now, I know what you’re thinking – “Oh. She’s one of those women who go out and eat salads”. Well for any of you who read my blog regularly, you’ll be picking yourself up and shaking off the shock to hear I ordered a salad – it’s never happened before. I really don’t know what came over me. But whatever instincts drew me to order the salad paid over because I thoroughly enjoyed it. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking – just what it said on the tin – but it was very nice all the same.

Dan chose roast fillet of sea trout on a fennel and blood orange salad (£14.75). The trout was cooked beautifully and was very moist. I have to say (Dan agreed with me), as nice as the blood orange salad was, I felt that it overpowered the dish and took away from the fish. Now, I’m no chef, so this is purely my own opinion but… all I could taste was orange (a minor criticism from the fastidious). However, the side dish of baked rosemary and garlic roast potatoes was superb (£2.95).

By the time we’d got this far, and glass of wine number two was flowing nicely, it seemed rude not to at least attempt a dessert (I had just eaten a salad after all). So we shared a very nice hot chocolate brownie served with pistachio ice cream and chocolate sauce (£5.95).

All in all, it was a lovely evening, in a beautiful restaurant with excellent service. I would definitely return. Thank you Gusto.

Jamie’s Italian experience

I’ve finally had my Jamie’s Italian dining experience. I’ve been meaning to visit Jamie Oliver’s Italian in Leeds for a while now and haven’t got around to it. Mum and I had been shopping in Leeds city centre and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to pop in for lunch.

The restaurant is situated near Greek Street in a building which used to be a bank and so has a grand, corporate feel to it. It hasn’t been altered a great deal so it looks traditional and the grand, old ceiling is intact. Although, I do hope the tiles are supposed to look like they might fall off the ceiling at any minute and aren’t actually about to fall at any minute!

There isn’t a specific lunch menu but there is an option to order a smaller portion of pasta dishes which I presume are starter portion sizes. As we were still recovering from an enormous dinner the night before and breakfast in Harvey Nichols, a smaller portion sounded perfect. I opted for prawn linguine, a friend, Abbey, had wild rabbit tagliolini and mum chose seaside risotto. We also ordered a selection of breads with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to nibble on to start.

The bread was a disappointment. It was dry and came crammed into what looked like a metal cutlery holder and plonked on the table in a canteen-style manner. However, saying that, I do appreciate that there’s not a great deal you can do to sex up bread but it could have been arranged and served in a more pleasant way.

Our mains were superb and just sufficient to put us on. If you have a big appetite, I would recommend getting the normal size portion but if you’re being greedy like we were and it’s your third meal out in row, a smaller portion is plenty enough to satisfy.

The atmosphere was great. As it was mid-week, there were lots of business people and friends meeting for lunch and there was a real buzz of chatter and laughter. We had to wait twenty minutes for a table so it must be a popular place for lunch. The barman was serving up some very nice looking cocktails too – the Bellini in particular looked lovely (it was a shame I was driving).

I was interested to hear on the grapevine that Jamie has CCTV cameras fitted in his restaurant kitchens so he can keep a watchful eye over his chefs and ensure they are preparing the recipes properly. I did tweet him once to ask if this was true but he never got back to me. In fact, I’ve tweeted him a few times without getting a response – not very good at all but I adore him that much, I’ll let it slide!

I noticed that many (if not all) of the dishes on the menu are out of the Jamie’s Italy recipe book. If you haven’t already got it, I certainly recommend buying it. Italian cuisine is absolutely my favourite (I would happily give up all other cuisines) and there’s a selection of amazing recipes in this book – my favourite is the chicken tetrazzini (chicken and mushroom pasta bake). It’s to die for! There’s also a few good risotto recipes but I always find making risotto really hard work – it needs a lot of time, love and attention.

I had a flick through the recipe book once I’d got home and also found the recipe in there for the prawn linguine I ate so I’m going to have a go myself. It’s a really simple recipe actually and calls for ingredients I already have in the kitchen (ones people tend to have lying around) so is a great recipe for a student like me. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I’m a sinner and food is my Achilles’ heel.

So, this week I’ve managed to successfully commit at least two of the seven deadly sins – gluttony and greed. It’s not looking good for me but what can I say!? Food is my Achilles’ heel.  Besides, it’s not often my mum comes for a couple of days in Leeds and I think it’s perfectly acceptable to overindulge once in a while.

I’ve heard great reviews about Bibis Italianissimo in Leeds but never eaten there myself. Since it’s taken me months to persuade my mum to come down and stay for a night and I wanted her to really enjoy herself, I was tempted to venture somewhere I’ve eaten before, somewhere safe, and not take the risk of trying a new restaurant. I decided against this as it’s so easy to revisit the same reliable restaurants and not explore and discover new ones.

As I had an evening lecture at the Rosebowl, we walked down to Bibis (which is situated next to Leeds Rail Station) and called into Epernay for a glass of wine and a catch up. Epernay is a lovely bar; very tasteful and sophisticated – the perfect place for a relaxed drink – and considering it was 7pm on a Tuesday evening, peaceful too!

We arrived at Bibis to be greeted by a very pleasant waiter and taken to our table. I was surprised at how busy the restaurant was for a Tuesday evening – the atmosphere was lively and buzzing. As it is renowned for its show time live entertainment events which it holds on various Wednesdays and Sundays, it is a very spacious restaurant and can hold a large number of diners. However, even on this Tuesday evening without live entertainment, it certainly wasn’t unfilled.

The menu is extensive with a wide variety of pastas, pizzas, meats, fish and specials. This isn’t a criticism, just my own preference, but personally, I’d much rather be presented with less choice. I’ve always preferred a smaller menu with fewer alternatives so that I can come to a decision more easily and also be tempted to try something I wouldn’t usually go for. Also, I’ve always believed if a chef offers fewer choices, they’ll be more practised at each recipe and more likely to cook them to absolute perfection.

I selected a starter of baked goat’s cheese with honey, toasted walnuts and balsamic roast pepper and my mum had sauté of tiger prawns in hot garlic butter with chillies and tomatoes. Both were absolutely sensational and generous portion sizes too – I had an entire circle of goat’s cheese to enjoy.

I have a huge weakness for cheese and creamy dishes, however, very sadly, my stomach doesn’t have the same adoration for rich food as my taste buds do so I have to be very careful not to overdose on dairy. Therefore, I think I made a mistake going for a main course of baked salmon and asparagus pancakes with taleggio and mascarpone cheese gratin as it was very rich and creamy. I could only manage half of the dish but it was very tasty and would have been more than satisfactory for those of you with a happier stomach than I.

Mum had spaghetti al frutti di mare which came with prawns, clams, calamari, mussels and scallops in a garlic and tomato sauce. Again, the portion size was very generous and the chef certainly wasn’t sparing with the seafood. She rated it very highly and would definitely order it again.

The service was faultless and the waiters were very charming. I even received an unexpected cuddle from an amusing waiter – I was actually looking for the ladies’ room but it was a pleasant delay.

I believe in tipping in restaurants as a show of gratitude to the staff for making an evening pleasant. The quality of service is so important in making or breaking an experience and I like to thank the restaurant staff for going the extra mile to ensure my experience has been excellent. However, at Bibis the bill already includes a 10% service charge – this may be a controversial opinion but personally, I’ve always believed that the customer should decide how pleasant the service has been and tip accordingly – there’s nothing worse than being forced to leave an extra 10% for terrible service. In many European countries, all restaurants include the service charge and I wouldn’t have the luxury of this, however, I still feel that the customer should be able to leave a tip at their own discretion as a sign of appreciation for good service. This is only a very minor criticism and the service was so pleasant, it was worth every penny (plus, it was mum’s treat anyway).

I would be very confident in recommending this restaurant to a friend or family member. The evening was a huge success and it was really lovely to spend some girly time together.

Watch out for my next post on our second day of gluttony…