Prosecco

Thursday 15th July 2010

This is a Crackerjack review of Prosecco. Do you agree? Rate and review this venue.

Food and drink: 9 / 10.
Service: 9 / 10.
Atmosphere: 8 / 10.
Value for money: 8 / 10.

If there is one person you really don’t want staring at you when you’re using the loo, it’s Gordon Ramsay. But there was the big sweary uber-chef in the gents at Prosecco, the Italian restaurant in Clifton Village.

Thankfully, it wasn’t the real Gordon, but a photo of him on the wall above the toilet. He is pictured with Prosecco owners Diego and Heidi da Re when they appeared as contestants on The F-Word.

Their appearance on the show transformed their business. The day after it was aired they had about 80 messages on their ansaphone and hits to their website went up from something like 150 a week to 450 a day. Such is the power of TV.

That was last November and the bookings are still coming in. Last Tuesday evening – usually a tumbleweed night for most restaurants – it was virtually packed.

I’m always banging on about the lack of truly great Italian restaurants run by native Italians (in my experience the best Italian food in restaurants outside of Italy is often cooked by non-Italians) but Prosecco is an exception.

Chef Diego comes from Veneto and he has been cooking since he was a kid. He has cooked all over Europe and worked at a number of notable London restaurants (including Mezzo, Zinc Bar & Grill and Sartoria) before moving to Bristol.

Prosecco opened in 2006 and it bucked the trend for Italian restaurants in Bristol in that it didn’t rely on pasta and pizza and concentrated on the regional cooking of North Eastern Italy.

It’s this focus on regionality and seasonality that sets it apart from others.

The restaurant is understated and elegant with wooden floors, white walls and monochrome photos of Venetian landscapes. Tables are unclothed and music is low enough to be drowned out by conversation.

The restaurant is named after the famous wine region of Prosecco and this sparkler has pride of place on the drinks list, with a number of bottles from different producers.

I kicked off with a chilled glass of Prosecco di Conegliano Frizzante nv Luchetta – a light and fruity start to the meal, accompanied by fat olives and excellent white bread rolls still steaming hot from the oven.
Wine is an important part of the Prosecco experience and I moved on to the Pinot Grigio/Garganega Colli Vicentini – a light zippy white from Veneto, before tucking into the juicy, red Barbera ca del Matt Piemonte, both of which worked brilliantly with the food choices.

A starter of octopus with peperonata and oregano vinaigrette (£6.75) took me straight back to Italian seaside holidays.

The cold tentacles had the taste of the sea and a good bite without being too chewy.

The peperonata was a glossy nest of slow-cooked strips of red and yellow pepper bathed in good olive oil and the fresh oregano dressing was well balanced and fruity.

This was followed by an incredibly tender piece of pork belly (£14.50) cut in a diamond shape with a long, thin and crisp pencil of crackling balancing on top the meat. It was served with three accompaniments – a fiery chilli compote, a stiff and pungent salsa verde and a tangy Bramley apple sauce that achieved the perfect balance between sharp and sweet.

I could map out my life in tiramisus – and past visits confirm that Prosecco’s is one of the best around – so I went for something a bit different.

The strawberry and yoghurt semi-freddo with mixed berry sauce (£5.75) was basically two slices of iced parfait with the pink colour and fruitiness of strawberries but the sour, milky tang of yoghurt.

The combination worked extremely well – refreshing and creamy, but not too sweet.

Looking back at the menu now, there are so many other dishes I wish I had tried – including smoked halibut and langoustine paté crostini and linguine with large king prawns, brandy and tomato sauce. Oh well, I’ll just have to go back again.

After my rant about Italian restaurants last week, Prosecco has restored my faith. It sticks to regional cooking and seasonality and that’s still the recipe for a truly great Italian restaurant.

Mark Taylor

Wheelchair access: Yes, but toilets are downstairs
Prices: Starters from £6; main courses from £9.50; desserts from £4.50

This is a Crackerjack review of Prosecco. Do you agree? Rate and review this venue.