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Restaurant round-up
Tama 104, Eixample Esquerra, 08015 Barcelona, tel: +34 93 424 52 31, www.barinopia.com
This hip but humble 40-seat bar in an up-and-coming Barcelona neighbourhood is the recently opened project of Albert Adrià – brother and pastry chef to famous Ferran Adrià of the legendarily experimental El Bulli. But despite that, there’s no culinary envelope-pushing on the menu here, just a shortlist of very well-executed tapas classics, such as croquetas, patatas bravas and deep-fried prawns, all at €5 a pop.
Inopia is brightly lit with white tiles, a white counter, simple black and stainless steel stools and is located on the ground floor of an old apartment block on the site of an old pharmacy. The retro styling is understated, as is the reference to its famous Michelin-starred relative in the ceramic bulldog sat on the bar.
Local brewer Moritz makes its presence felt throughout, with its beer on tap and the brand-name generously scattered around the bar. Other sponsors lay their logos on bar staff that dress in tight black t-shirts festooned with badges – F1 driver style.
In addition to the tapas there’s a selection of classy canned Spanish seafood, including la brújula clams at €23 a tin, and, if beer’s not your thing, there’s a fine selection of well-chosen wines to wash it all down with, from local Cavas and Priorats to imported Tokaj.
Average price of dinner for two with house wine: €58. Words Joe Warwick
Via della Penitenza 7, Trastevere, tel: +39 06 68307053 www.rivadestra.com
Open: Mon-Thu 7.30pm-11.30pm, Fri-Sat 7.30pm-midnight
You’ve got to offer something special if you’re opening an upmarket restaurant in Trastevere, the district just south of central Rome. Here you’ll find the archetypal Italia at sunset: rows of open-air places selling pasta like your mamma made, which you quaff with house wine as children kick footballs around in busy squares. How can air-conditioning and interior design compete with that?
The answer: by keeping things simple. Rivadestra aims to be a “home restaurant” – a place of informal luxury where you can come and eat pasta if you want to, but also enjoy light meals made with fresh ingredients and Mediterranean simplicity. If you like your fruit and veg, you’ll love the strips of fresh asparagus and courgette that complement something as simple as a sea bass and tomato salad, the copious greens that lift your seared tuna off the plate, or the balanced sweetness of forest berries in jelly.
Menus change every three weeks, to keep the food as seasonal as it can be.
But the secret to Rivadestra’s popularity is that it is what it sets out to be: a home from home. Lighting is subdued, linens are casually folded, and service from the denim-clad waiters is as laid-back as it gets. Romans wouldn’t want it any other way.
Average price of dinner for two with house wine: €95. Words Chris Alden
Store Kongensgade 59, Copenhagen, tel: +45 3338 7500 Kitchen
open: Mon-Thu midday-3pm, 6pm-10pm; Fri midday-3pm, 6pm-11pm; Sat 6pm-11pm; Sun 6pm-10pm. Cocktail bar open until at least 1am
Sexy yet not too flash, cool yet warmly welcoming. It’s a fine line but Umami pulls it off where others don’t. The interior is beautifully designed by global act Orbit, from the slim minimalist cocktail bar veiled behind slinky bead curtains to the low-lit first-floor restaurant, which lies hidden beyond a striking open-kitchen walkway. And the modern Japanese food, in the vein of Sydney’s Tetsuya’s, trumps all.
The nigiri sushi, maki and sashimi are gorgeous to look at and spanking fresh. Starters not to skip include silky toro tartare (fatty tuna belly) with osetra caviar, black tiger prawns deep fried in a bird’s nest of pastry with wasabi mayo and ponzu dips, and seared-then-chilled tataki salmon, which is butter-soft. Wagyu beef is also cooked tataki style, but is on the pricier side at €29.50 (DKK220) a pop.
Hot mains have a more noticeably French twist with Gallic reductions and ingredients. Grilled veal tenderloin comes with a truffle and wasabi sauce, and meltingly tender slices of duck breast, lightly poached in ginger and garlic sauce, are layered with rich duck and foie gras-stuffed gyoza (fried dumplings).
Jesper Boelskifte, who owns Umami and another Copenhagen favourite Le Sommelier, happens to be President of the Danish Sommeliers Association so you can be sure the largely European wine list, and “grand cru”-equivalent sakes will be spot on. Go for the full treatment “Vinmenu” with paired wines and dishes – €68 (DKK510) or €94 (DKK700).
Although something of a big cheese on world wine scene, Boelskifte likes to stay hands-on, managing the restaurant floor and topping up diners’ glasses in person. Very much in keeping with Umami’s air of cool understatement.
Average price of dinner for two with house wine: €200 (DKK 1500). Words Gemma Elwin Harris
Piazza Tito Lucrezio Caro 1 20136 Milan, tel: +39 02 4547 4688 www.formafoto.it
Forma, the International Centre for Photography, sits in Milan’s revamped Ticinese district, around the corner from Porta Genova and the canals. A one-time tramway warehouse, it’s an impressive exhibition space and shrine to the power of the image, in a city where such things are valued. It’s also home to a very enjoyable restaurant, with a natty, sleek dining room that caters for a buzzy crowd of culture vultures and arty locals. Chef Danilo Ange is building up quite a reputation for himself in the Italian style press: treats such as the baccalà black cod with olive-infused potatoes and a sweet-and-sour sauce, or the veal with celery puree and caramelised potatoes show a deft hand, and keen sense of how to match flavours without going overboard. A small terrace offers weather-permitting alfresco dining opportunities, while the wine list waves the flag for regional Italian grape varieties, with more than 150 options. The restaurant manages to free itself from the usual trappings of art-house/gallery eateries: this is a sleek, self-contained and very agreeable destination restaurant in its own right. Next door, Café Forma is a rather less formal pit-stop, with a short menu of lighter dishes. It’s perfect for a cocktail and some homemade cake.
Average price of dinner for two with house wine: €140. Words Matthew Barker
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