Bottega del Vino, Verona

...recommended that we tried Antica Bottega del Vino, it was in the mid-priced section and it sounded pretty good, it also highly recommended booking. In fact, the guide actually recommends booking anywhere you might want to eat in Verona - Italians like to take their time over their food and tend to start at about 8 and end late into the night.

So after our drink we headed over to where this restaurant was located and had a gander at ...
...& I decided that the Bottega was definitely where we wanted to eat, just by the atmosphere and interior when we had popped our head in to check availability of tables, so we were going to hold out...

...two phone calls (by Snarf later) and only half a glass of Soave left, I decided to take matters into my own hands - and called the another restaurant that we had seen, and managed to get a table in the next 15mins, so made our way over. ... more

After easing myself gently back into review writing, I think it is time for me to tackle my most favoritist subject - food (& wine, but I don't really know much about that, except that it tastes nice *hic*)

...As some of you may know (from last review), Snarf and I recently paid a visit to Italy and spent a night in Verona, and obviously we needed to be fed & watered, and since Verona was the very last leg of our trip, we wanted to be fed & watered well - none of this pizza/pasta muck that we had been desperately trying to dodge for the most part of our holiday.

So over a glass of Soave, we consulted our rough guide, which recommended that we tried Antica Bottega del Vino, it was in the mid-priced section and it sounded pretty good, it also highly recommended booking. In fact, the guide actually recommends booking anywhere you might want to eat in Verona - Italians like to take their time over their food and tend to start at about 8 and end late into the night.

So after our drink we headed over to where this restaurant was located and had a gander at their menu, which looked good. So anyway the evening wears on, Snarf and I decide to indulge in yet more Soave, and might I add that there is no sign of either one of us taking the initiative to phone the restaurant and book a table, (despite the fact that it was a Saturday night, Romeo & Juliet was on at the Arena, basically really busy in Verona). It got to about 7:30 and we decided we were hungry, so we decided to try and get some food, shock horror, they were full, and we were told to try and call in about an hour to see if they had a table free <<insert expletive>>.

Have no fear, Snarf and I have a back up plan - go and drink another bottle of Soave and eat some cheese. After (not so) much deliberation, Snarf & I decided that the Bottega was definitely where we wanted to eat, just by the atmosphere and interior when we had popped our head in to check availability of tables, so we were going to hold out...

...two phone calls (by Snarf later) and only half a glass of Soave left, I decided to take matters into my own hands - and called the another restaurant that we had seen, and managed to get a table in the next 15mins, so made our way over. On the way, I decided to stop into the Bottega and batted my eyelids (hard) at the maitre d' and we managed to get a table (he also offered me a tissue to see if I could get whatever was bothering my eye out)! Sorry other restaurant, who's name I can't remember, I will not be dining in your fine establishment tonight!

~First Impressions~

By the time we got into the restaurant, it was about 21:00 hours, and it was still very, very full and busy, we were seated at a tiny table (others had tiny tables too, so I was not too disappointed), and given a glass of sparkling wine - which was quite a nice touch.

The restaurant itself has lovely high ceilings, but a lovely intimate feel, with soft lighting and a lot of dark wood & clean crisp white table cloths. We were then presented with the menu, which our waiter, who spoke very good English, guided us through. He also left us with a massive wine book, divided by farms. Snarf got daunted after about 20 mins of staring at the wine list, so I made yet another executive decision (oh get me...all these decisions and taking control!) and decided on a bottle of Valpollicella, for about 20 euros, from a farm recommended by the waiter.

One thing that I noticed, when he presented us with our wine, he mentioned that it was a "good house wine", which I thought was a bit "up his own wine bottom" but hey, it was nice and smooth and after the amount that we had drank that night already, I was beyond caring what the waiter thought of us.

~Fodder~

The whole time we had been in Italy, I had struggled with the Italian way of eating, now I can eat A LOT, but it appears my appetite is very tame in comparison to these Italians, anyway, when in Rome...

~Primi Piatti~

..so I ordered for starters Gnocchetti Verdi con Fonduta di Pecorino e Timo (green Gnocchi, assume it was some sort of herb that made it green, with Pecorino (sheeps cheese I believe)), 11 euros & Snarf ordered the Ravioli della Casa (ravioli stuffed with lamb and beef) 16 euros.

Gnocchi has always been a gamble for me, especially as a starter, whenever I have had gnocchi in the past it has been too stodgy and filling and just, I don't know, squidgy, but this gnocchi was beautiful, tiny little 5 pence sized balls of green deliciousness that just melted in your mouth. The sheep's cheese (already a big fan of sheep cheese) was lovely, not too over powering, but lovely and creamy, with a hint of richness. I did actually almost finish the gnocchi, and if I didn't have a main course on the way, I would have finished the whole plate!

Snarf's ravioli was lovely, tossed in olive oil, the pasta was light and fresh, and the meat was beautifully balanced, and surprisingly not that heavy - Snarf scoffed the lot, guess it gets the thumbs up too!

~Secondi piatti~

Ok horse lovers may wish to look away, and I appologise to anyone this may offend (but sort of secretly am quite pleased I tried this dish), but for my main course I had to go for the Pastissada de Caval (Horse meat), 20 euros, and Snarf went for (again I apologise if we are offending anyone, but it was on the menu, so if we didn't eat it, someone else would have) Costoletta di Vitello ai Formaggi (Veal Chop with cheese sauce), 22 euros.

Anyone who may already be a little offended may want to look away now, because it is about to get a whole lot more offensive (sorry!)...I'll let you know when it is safe to read on!

The Horse meat was a sort of goulash, and was served with polenta, and I am sorry, but I really enjoyed it, according to our waiter it is stewed for 24 hours, in red wine (what sold it to me) before being served. On the plate it is basically meat that has been stewed for so long that it is starting to fall apart, the first mouthful was not what I was expecting, it was rich and sweet and just melted away, which obviously warranted another fork full, followed by lots of "ummmmm" noises. To be perfectly honest, I am not sure whether it was the expert way that the horse was cooked and seasoned that made it taste so good, I have a sneaking suspicion, that horse meat may actually be a bit tough and flavourless, unless prepared properly. The polenta (even though I am a great fan of it) did not get a look in, as I was so full from the main course, but it was the best polenta that I had on the holiday, it was whipped smooth and was really quite tasty (as far as polenta goes).

Snarf's veal chop with cheese sauce was a bit of a surprise - the veal chop was the size of a decent pork chop (was not expecting that much veal) and the cheese sauce was, as it said on the tin, sauce of cheese - melted cheese on veal chop, which was very nice, it tasted very similar to the sheep cheese served with my gnocchi. Now I have never tried veal, as some of you will know I have a soft spot for another cruel food, foie gras, but after all the wine I decided that it would be ok to have a small taste of Snarf's chop, as everyone seems to rave about veal...

...I am not sure what all the fuss is about, it tasted like a pork chop to me (not a big fan of pork chops) I was quite disappointed I was expecting something mind blowing, but Snarf seemed to enjoy it!

~Offensive talk is over - Overall impressions~

Bottega del Vino has been open since 1890, and serves traditional Veronese dishes, but something tells me that the proprietors' true love is wine, with roughly 2,800 wines on the list/book and a rumoured 130,000 bottles of wine in the cellar!

Our meal came to 105 euros (the cheeky bass-tards charged us for the sparkling wine), but to be honest, it was definitely worth what we paid for. And when I think how much I have paid for mediocre meals in London, I can't really complain. I couldn't have asked for anything more from the service, even if it did have a bottle of rather expensive wine shoved up it's behind, I guess that is allowed in such an "old establishment" they have every right to be borderline pretentious & a little snooty about their vino & themselves.

I would highly recommend this place to anyone going to Verona, and I would definitely make you book a table, I think we were really lucky to squeeze ourselves in at the end of the evening, this place is so good, I would not want you to miss out, and trust me, you will really be missing out if you don't go here, I am sure there are other much more expensive restaurants that will not offer as much value for money as this.

There is not much more to say other than the translation of my titles is:

"May God protect me from those who do not drink wine"

Quite fitting really, just wondering if it is better than the title of my Nikita's review....

I have awarded 5 stars for this restaurant, this is based on everything, including the experience, I would have liked to award 9/10, due to the wine lodged firmly up the waiters' arses, but it didn't take away any from the thoroughly enjoyable evening that was had.

I also awarded an excellent for family friendliness, I found the Italians seem to be a lot more family orientated and the kids seem a lot better behaved in a restaurant setting than back here in the UK, so according to Italian standards this may be a bit too generous.

p.s. They have a branch in New York, if I am ever in NYC I will definately be BOOKING a table there!! 

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