Now that restaurants are resuming, I will be posting reviews and recommendations on some of my favourite places to eat.
Let's start with a very belated Christmas present from my boyfriend. He treated me to a fantastic recipe book called Trullo by an Italian chef Tim Siadatan, followed by dinner at the restaurant. Being the youngest head chef at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen at 23, Siadatan became famous for his bold Italian cooking and opened Trullo, located in Highbury East in 2010. The restaurant offers a tapas style menu covering antipasti, primi (first dishes), oven and grill dishes (and don't forget dessert!).
Once seated we were served some sourdough with Fontodi olive oil.
This oil is made from Corregiolo and Frantoio olive groves which grow beside Fontodi’s vines in the Conca d’Oro estate. The oil gives hints of artichoke leaf and a peppery flavour- so yum and definitely one for the larder!
To share, we ordered one antipasti, two pasta dishes and one from the grill.
This suited us just right as we had a bit more room to share a pudding!
We chose to stick with the theme and have an Italian white wine; a Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, 2015 which went very well with the food with its' fruity and fresh flavours.
So to start.... Braised Brixham cuttlefish with datterini tomatoes & basil. Wow it was yum!
It was served on some sourdough bread which we used to soak up the delicious sauce.
I feel with fish you have to be careful not to overpower its flavour; the cooked tomatoes and basil complimented it wonderfully.
Now onto the pasta dishes. We had a Pappardelle with beef shin ragu and a Tagliarini with picked Dorset crab, chilli & lemon.
The fresh hand-made pasta and charcoal grill are the highlights of the Trullo menu...and I now see why!
The beef ragu melted in the mouth whilst the chilli & lemon did not overpower the crab.
We then moved onto whole Brixham red mullet with roast yellow peppers, coco blanc and salsa rossa. The flavour of the mullet was incredible, the balance of salt and crispiness of the skin just perfect. The peppers were sticky and smoky which complimented the fish, whilst the white beans amplified these flavours brilliantly.
We finished with sharing a chocolate and salted caramel tart which was quite literally the icing on the cake!
All in all, the food was absolutely fantastic and the staff were all very friendly and attentive. I will definitely be going there again!