Briciole

Briciole is a combination of Italian delicatessen and restaurant. It has a casual atmosphere, with tightly packed tables. We began the meal with very enjoyable arancini, the risotto filling having plenty of flavour, the breadcrumb coating crisp (13/20). A salad of goat cheese, walnuts and beetroot (£4.50) was pleasant if a little heavy on the cheese, though the beetroot was a good foil for this (12/20). A salad of tomatoes, green beans and avocado (£5) had ripe avocado and tomatoes with good flavour (13/20).

For the main course, taglialini (£15) with porcini had well made pasta with good quality mushrooms that were carefully cooked (13/20). Native lobster (£20) came with tagliatelle and also had excellent pasta made from scratch, and tender shellfish (easily 13/20).

For dessert, tiramisu was enjoyable, though the coffee flavour was rather tentative (12/20). Coffee tasted a little on the burnt side. The bill came to £95 each, though this was with some excellent Antinori Badia a Passignano Riserva Chianti 2009 (£89 v a retail price of £44) and pre-dinner drinks. If you shared a more modest bottle of wine then a more typical cost per head would be about £50.  Briciole serves simple and enjoyable food in a relaxed setting. Service was fairly basic, with the waitresses forgetful at times, though the manager knows what he is doing. On this busy Friday night tables were being turned around us, a testament to the popularity of the place.  

Further reviews: 14th Aug 2014 | 21st Sep 2012