La Bottega,
625 Lisburn Road,
Belfast
BT9 7GT.
028 9049 0340,
labottegabelfast.co.uk
WITH the impeccable timing of an England supporter arriving at the World Cup just as they face a decent team, we get to La Bottega in Belfast and find the kitchen closed.
It's just past three on a Wednesday afternoon and we wonder if a quiet day has meant leaving lunch so late has backfired. No, we're told, there are exceptional circumstances. The chef had to leave earlier. This time yesterday would have been no problem. All being well, tomorrow will be the same.
Today, unfortunately, is neither yesterday nor tomorrow. But all's not lost. You don't need to settle for a coffee and something to go with it.
Pinsa, Roman flatbread, and filled focaccia can be rustled up. Will they do? Half a glance at the menu tells us they will do very nicely, thanks very much.
There's a handsome slicer perched beside an even better looking selection of the meat and cheese about to come our way. One Spanish customer is drawn to the contraption, the jamon in his veins obviously acting as a homing device, and he admires the machinery while discussing the porky delights that get put through it.
It's a different vibe for lunch in Belfast on a grey Wednesday, and it's a nice one.
La Bottega is small, with the curve of a bar ready to prop up anyone looking to sink an espresso or any of the other top-notch coffees. A few tables dot the space that stretches back off the street, with shelves filled with pasta, oil and biscuits, as well as jars of olive paste, tuna and other Italian specialities Francesco Iaquinta, who opened on the Lisburn Road just over a year ago, says he's determined you won't find in a supermarket here.
This market side of La Bottega looks lovely, and capable of putting a serious hole in your bank balance, but we're here to eat now. And that doesn't mean cracking open a jar of artichoke paste. Although, to be honest: totally would.
But as good as our meat and cheese toastie-adjacent lunches are – fennel seeds on one and pistachios on the other tell you you're getting something with its sights set just a bit higher – a look at the more expansive menu the kitchen usually provides prompts plans to return.
It's busier the next time, a little earlier in the day and a little closer to Christmas. There's one table and we grab it thankfully. An expanded space upstairs will open in the near future and it's obvious from a full house that the demand is there.
A pair of starters arrive made to protect against the bitter cold snap pinching the skin and catching the breath outside. Polenta crostini, with thick slices of the set cornmeal in place of bread, come topped with a chunk of sweet sausage, a mushroom and a melted canopy of smoked scamorza cheese. A little pot of taleggio sauce doubles down on the cheesiness, and it's required as the polenta isn't so much thick slices as breeze blocks.
It somehow managed to retain a lightness despite its size but may have benefited from being half the height.
Pallotte, deep fried balls of pecorino and parmesan cheeses with eggs are another example in whatever's Italian for 'stick to your ribs' but they're just as successful, especially in a pool of bright tomato sauce.
Nothing is hugely complicated because it doesn't need to be. Classic flavours are thoughtfully put together and come out with the sole purpose of making your time eating them feel exceptionally well spent.
The parmigiana di melanzane might be the best example of this. That tomato sauce again, between layers of fried aubergine, mozzarella and a healthy whack of parmesan is an oozing delight.
There's a nod of reassurance in every bite, then every scrape of the plate with a chunk of sourdough.
A mound of tortellini, filled with salty bursts of ham, comes in a bowl, peeking above a pool of glistening meat broth.
The stuffed pasta in stock flavoured with capon chicken, veal and beef is an Italian Christmas favourite and few things could be more welcome on a sub-zero day like today.
Well, maybe a couple of things, like a perfectly balanced tiramisu – it would need to be as it's huge – and a frankly outrageous pistachio cannolo. And maybe even a wee limoncello.
Come on, it's Christmas. And, above all, plans to return.
THE BILL
Pallotte £8
Crostini di polenta £9.50
Parmigiana di melanzane £13
Tortellini £16
Cannolo pistachio £5
Tiramisu £6
Blood orange San Pellegrino x2 £5
Flat white £2.80
Espresso £2.50
Limoncello £4.95
Total £72.75
