| Ambiance: |  (4 / 5) |
| Service: | (4.5 / 5) |
| Value for money: | (4 / 5) |
| Toilets: | (1.5 / 5) |
Trullo most definitely wasn’t on my list of Italian restaurants to try, mainly because it isn’t well known, is pretty pricey and most importantly, had no pizza on offer. But my arm was twisted and off I hopped.
From the outside, despite its sleek black design, Trullo looked very inviting. It was also remarkably easy to find, and only a straight one minute walk from Highbury & Islington station. Always a bonus! Inside, there was a low hubbub of activity and delicious smells wafting through the restaurant. Considering it was a Tuesday night, the restaurant seemed pretty busy with only a few tables free. The mood was pretty romantic, with lowly lit lighting and candles dotted around everywhere. We were seated in the downstairs area, which I actually preferred and were given a choice of two tables (adding on more bonus points!).
The menu was simply a piece of white A6 paper with a reasonable selection of that evening’s ‘antipasti’ ‘primi’ ‘secondi’ and ‘oven grill’ to choose from. Although not fully liking this simplicity, it did show that the food is made fresh every day and that thought has gone into constructing the menu so I was looking forward to giving it a go. I don’t think Trullo is the best place for a fussy eater though, as there were things on the menu that even I didn’t recognise, such as kohirabi and farinata. The wine list was pretty great though, leather bound and well divided into appropriately labelled sections, it had a decent selection of Italian wine to choose from. We opted for two carafes as we couldn’t agree on red or white wine. Admittedly I don’t know too much about Italian wine (I will do soon though!) so I ended up choosing the ‘Karmis’ as I fancied something a bit fuller bodied, and at 14%, I thought that’d do the job. And, mmm it was yummy. It tasted quite like elderflower cordial, and it definitely didn’t taste like I was drinking alcohol! Dangerous really. We were given complimentary sour dough with our wine, which is an extra touch that I always enjoy in restaurants and I have to say, it was up there in the best sourdoughs I’ve ever had, even the ones I’ve devoured in San Francisco.
Veal & Beef Shin Parpadelle (I apologise about my photography, it was so dark and I didn’t want to embarrass myself with the flash!)
For our dinner, we opted to share everything – as everyone might know by now, this made me very happy! We had veal with tuna carpaccio and caperberries as our antipasti, beef shin parpadelle for primi and for our mains, the pork chop and haggot faggot. Within fifteen minutes, the starters came and looked and smelt delicious.
Unfortunately the parpadelle was verging on the cold side, but it was cooked perfectly ‘al dente’ and the beef shin ragu can be best described as a meatier, richer pulled pork. If it was piping hot, I could happily have managed a main size portion of beef shin ragu myself. The veal, with the addition of the fishy tuna, was a unique taste but worked well. It was moist, and the balance of accompanying flavours definitely did it justice.
Check out the size of that chop!
For our main course, we chose a very heavy red wine. I can’t remember the name, but I can imagine the flavonoid content being super high so I was more than likely doing my heart some good while drinking it! Now, for the food – I’d never usually order pork in a restaurant because 1) it’s very low down on my favourite meat least and 2) it’s so easy to cook and unfortunately, Trullo fell into the second category. In hindsight, I’m glad because it meant I didn’t end up eating so much, but it’s a shame because if they’d just taken it out of the oven 5 minutes earlier, it’d have been a totally different experience. However, the haggot faggot, recommended by our waitress, made up for the pork chop. Like a ginormous meatball in appearance, with the texture of meatloaf, it tasted very hearty and reminded me of something you’d get in a rustic farmhouse in Tuscany. The accompanying bertolli beans and spinach were a nice accompaniment too.
We decided against pudding and left very satisfied. Despite not wanting to go to Trullo originally, I’d definitely now recommend it as a place to go.
Recommendation
I’m only giving Turro a 3.5 as the food wasn’t as good as the prices and atmosphere implied. However, it’s a lovely venue, with amazing service and a great selection of wines, so if I were to be asked to go back, I’d have no reservations.
Extra Information:
Address: 300-302 St Paul’s Road, London, N1 2LH
Phone: 020 7226 2773
Website: http://www.trullorestaurant.com
NTK: Order the Karmis white wine and ask as many questions about the menu as you like, the staff there really seem to know their stuff!
