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New Italian still has a lot to learn
AS A FREQUENT visitor to many surrounding Italian restaurants, I was eager to sample the offerings of a new Italian diner just outside Barlborough.
Italian food has always been my favourite of all world cuisine.
So when my husband and I booked a romantic Friday night dinner for two at Giovanni's on Renishaw Hill, I could not wait to sample some authentic Italian dishes.
The outside of the building is admittedly perhaps a little shabby, and would benefit from a little TLC, but we were not too bothered by this as a warm welcoming glow welcomed us inside.
Upon entering the restaurant, I was struck by the newly re-furbished interior. You could still smell the fresh paint, and character-enhancing rustic wooden features ran throughout the restaurant.
Large chunky wooden tables and modern high-backed leather chairs dominate, finished off with gently flickering candles and soft atmospheric background music.
From the large wooden bar in the centre of the restaurant, my husband ordered a lager, and I went for a spritzer.
After a leisurely drink at said bar, we were escorted to a fantastic table next to a huge bay window.
The extensive menu offered a variety of Italian dishes, from pizzas and lasagne to fillet steak and swordfish.
My husband opted for the tomato and basil soup to start, while I decided to try the king prawns in a white wine and garlic sauce.
Before our starters arrived, our very friendly Italian waiter presented us with some fresh crusty bread and olive oil, to whet our appetites – a very nice touch that not enough restaurants offer.
The tomato soup was the best I have ever tasted, although my partner suggested that it would have benefited enormously from a little seasoning.
The king prawns I ordered, whilst delicious, were still in their shells – which was not stated in the menu. So for the next 15 minutes I proceeded to struggle to peel the prawns from head to toe, which I do not find very appetising.
With the first course well and truly finished, it was on to the main dish. My husband ordered Italian meatballs in a tomato and basil sauce with tagliatelle. Again, the dish was a victim of under-seasoning.
The tomato sauce should have been bursting with flavour, but instead was fairly bland.
The savoury pancakes with chicken, spinach and mozzarella suffered the same fate.
The thing I love about Italian cooking is the intense flavour produced by simple ingredients, like garlic and tomatoes. But this element was a distant memory on this occasion.
And the garlic bread we ordered to accompany our main meals was possibly the blandest I have ever tried.
Instead of oozing a delicious garlic butter, the flat dough was tasteless and dry, and not a flake of garlic in sight.
We left Giovanni’s not truly feeling like we had just tasted an authentic slice of Italy.
But for the dcor, atmosphere and service alone, it would be worth returning, but next time I would instead try something simple like pizza which is almost impossible to get wrong.
by Helen Mullins
Star rating HH
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Weather for Worksop
Sunday 05 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 1 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: -1 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North
