... With virtual travel we let take you in advance a look in our card and of course the possibilities which we offer! Salute e buon apetito, Drawer Cucina Italiana
Lays you in wadding, sounds like something a nurse would do doesn't it?
CONCLUSION
This was another excellent restaurant ... Read review
Advantages: Great food, great location, good value for money Disadvantages: Erm ... you probably won't visit the town!
...budgets.
'''CONTACT DETAILS'''
La Cucina Italiana
Ginnekeweg 309,
4835 NC
Breda
The Netherlands.
Telephone : 076 - 561 77 65
Email : info@lacucina-italiana.nl
Website : http://www.lacucina-italiana.nl/ ... more
INTRODUCTION
The posh Breda suburb of Ginneken has a plethora of fine looking restaurants on the main throughfare of Ginnekeweg, and this Italian one in particular has caught my eye for some time, in a grand looking building set in from the street. It must be popular as you always seem to have to book. Having finally got round to doing this, here is the verdict.
THE RESTAURANT
As you walk in, a seafood counter immediately greets you, with live lobsters, less live fish and other assorted bits of fancy looking seafood. Seating is all around here, with many tables for 2 and 4. We sat in the upstairs section, a steep wooden staircase to the right of the seafood counter, and our coats were taken from us. I noted no music was playing, which I found quite refreshing.
On the second floor, there were several table of between 2 and 8, with decent spacing between them to maintain privacy. The restaurant was pretty full and the diner ranged between looking very well to do and fairly well off. The flooring was wooden laminate, with a sort of mimicking of red tiled with large areas of grouting between them. Downstairs there were real dark brown slate tiles. A red ceiling with dark wooden beams had orange lampshades hanging from them which had on them prints of, well, old fashioned lampshades. The upper half of the walls were painted to the sides with images of village houses. The lower half was dark wood panelling. Dark wooden tables and chairs completed the look, which as usual here was dimly lit. Not really my preference but there you go, I found it a bit gloomy. Behind my table I could see over a banister to the lower level, and I admired some diagonal beams that connected the balcony to the roof which was common to both areas, quite clever. I could also see a chandelier with many little lights hanging from it. Some small window panes had some plants on their sills.
On each table was a small candle on a fancy glass holder, and the salt and pepper shakers were very smart. They were spring loaded on the top and the idea was to push the spring down and something would be dispensed.
THE EXPERIENCE
I initially ordered a fresh orange juice, which was very nice. It was quite sweet and not at all bitter, with plenty of whizzed up bits in it. After 5 minutes no menu appeared to be forthcoming, but don't panic yet I thought, I bet there's a plan. Next up three starters in small square dishes, with cocktails sticks to pick them up and some bread arrived. I checked on the bill and they don't charge them as a cover, so we are talking a classy place here as these were good quality dishes. There were some mixed black and green olives which were OK although nothing special. My dining partner, the notorious Barcelona Boy, reckoned that they had been picked before being fully ripe and thus the skin was a little bit too hard. Some tiny mozzarella balls in oil were quite nice. There was also a pleasantly strong tasting tomato tapenade. This was quite sweet and not all acidic, leading us to conclude that some sugar had probably been added. Another sage comment from Barcelona Boy was the oil with all three of these dishes was quite mild and didn't overpower the dishes' tastes. The white bread was very nice; cut into slices, the crust was crispy and the inside soft, tasty and doughy.
As we were tucking into all of this the menus arrived. There you go, it was all planned after all, ah I knew all along! This contained several courses - antipasti, soups, pasta, fish, meat, pizzas and desserts. Some fish dishes arrived at a neighbouring table and the waft of cooked seafood was making my mouth water, as was the look of it, so I went for it all out. I ordered "Spaghetti ai frutti di mare" with the optional half a lobster. The menu (via Babel Fish) describes this as "Spaghetti with scale and shell animals". Barcelona Boy went for "Tagliatelle con funghi e tartufo" which is apparently "Tagliatelle with bunch mushrooms, truffle and parmezaanse cheese"
After we had ordered and stuffed our faces we amused ourselves by making the wine glasses hum when wetting the rim, which the Boy reckons is a sign of a good quality glass. My special implements arrived, i.e. a lobster cracker and some soft of thin metal implement with a small head, presumably to lever meat from the lobster.
And so the food arrived about 15 minutes later and boy was it a lot of food. I have noted a trend here for the fancier establishment to offer excellent value for money if you're after quantity and quality, which would appear to turn everything on its head.
My rather large dish consisted of a huge half lobster perched on top of spaghetti layered with mussels, cockles, a scallop, prawns and a langoustine in a thin tomatoey sauce, with some sprigs of fresh oregano. It looked pretty spectacular. Each consistent part had a decent taste of its own. The mussels were quite big and meaty, the cockles a more subtle taste, the sole scallop was firm and flavoursome, the prawns nice. I tackled the langoustine last, after about 10 minutes, and it was still piping hot; it was firm and tasty.
I went for the lobster first and managed to get the tail out without too much hassle. That was fantastic; well cooked, firm and with a bit of a crunch to it with its firmness. I had mixed results with the claw. I think I actually broke the cracker as I tried to use the end with the thin wire forceps to force open a crack in the claw but kind of bent them. I did try to repair them, honest. It worked better when I cracked it between the thick ends. That was pretty tasty meat too once I'd got hold of it.
The spaghetti was nicely al dente, and I liked the firmness to it. Mixed in with the sauce, it was great tasting and a perfect compliment to the medley of seafood.
As for the tagliatelle with mushroom Barcelona Boy says that his dish was perhaps a little on the large side, which seems to be the norm here, so he was a little tired of it by then end, as good as it was. There were 3 types of mushroom in the creamy sauce, and the sauce itself has nice with the truffle in, and he would have preferred a little more taste of the truffle, although he could really smell it. The tagliatelle was al dente and so firm but not overcooked. The sparse amount of parmesan cheese was perfect and there was also a peppery taste to the sauce.
The Boy finished with a decaf espresso, served in a little glass cup and accompanied by a biscotto and a wrapped round chocolate which I nicked off him and this seemed to be some kind of large posh Malteser as it had a honeycomb centre, very nice it was, too. The espresso was apparently impressively strong tasting for a decaf with a nice slightly sour taste which the Boy is a fan of.
Some little minty sweets came with the bill and we were completely stuffed by them. We had been there for an hour and because of the clever way it had all been staggered, it really didn't feel like it.
THE SERVICE
Pretty impressive actually. We were always served with a smile and they seemed to be very professional. The way that the experience was staggered in timing and actions, from the starters to the menu through to the mains and dessert, was very smartly thought out and adds to the experience (once you realise you're not supposed to get the menu straight away). One slight error in my opinion is that with all the seafood in shells, I would obviously have to use my hands at some stage, and no finger bowl was initially provided. To be fair, one did arrive about halfway through my meal with no prompting, so they were obviously paying attention, which is very good. Although I didn't get a side plate for all the shells, so that needs looking at.
FUN WITH BABEL FISH
Carri Amici Della Cucina Italiana! Team drawer Cucina is called you most welcome on our Internet site, where we want present you with proudly our restaurant. The previous years our team much new fragrance has gained - and taste experiences. We a step has further put in culinary discovery travel Italy. Naturally letting we you profit with and experience. Our kitchen brigade is ready taking Italy you on a culinary travel by. Whereas our black brigade lays you in wadding and ensures the well-known huiselijke gezelligheid. With virtual travel we let take you in advance a look in our card and of course the possibilities which we offer! Salute e buon apetito, Drawer Cucina Italiana
Lays you in wadding, sounds like something a nurse would do doesn't it?
CONCLUSION
This was another excellent restaurant and it seems now that I am leaving I am finding all the places with excellent food and great service. The setting is nice and getting out of the town centre to the more sedate Ginneken can also be fun. The prices of the dishes range from 10 to 50 Euros, so I think this can suit all budgets.
CONTACT DETAILS
La Cucina Italiana Ginnekeweg 309, 4835 NC Breda The Netherlands.
