Carluccios (Liverpool) Review
Carluccio’s
Liverpool
Reviewed by Sean Dodson
When Carluccio’s first opened in London in the late nineties, it was distinct as a casual deli-cum-café. It was the sort of place you might pop in to buy bread and then linger over a latte at a communal table while helping yourself to a stack of newspapers. It lent an informal, leisurely experience to select high streets across Britain, as well as a taste of fine Italian food without the starchiness of a formal restaurant.
While little of the casual atmosphere might have disappeared from the chain’s early days, Carluccio’s now offers over 50 branches worldwide, the Liverpool branch we visited remains a largely informal affair. The communal table has gone, sadly, but the counter remains and this warm, glass-fronted restaurant, opening on to an upmarket shopping centre, is the sort of place a family-of-three might pop into after a day of strenuous shopping at the city’s beautifully remodelled city centre.
The friendly tone was set when the staff promptly presented a pack of jigsaw’s and pencils to our daughter who knelt and lolled on the restaurant’s wide, leather benches: so perfect for a toddler growing too old for a high chair, though not yet ready for the conformity of a chair.
We started with some supremely creamy mozzarella dell’isola (£6.75) with Parma ham and some piquant peppers, the latter so wonderful we wished for a few more. The calamari fritti (£5.95) a dish of tightly sliced, lightly cooked, slightly chewy squid rings set on a square of fat-absorbing brown paper was spot on. Simply set with a wedge of lemon they were plain and simple – in a good way.
For mains we enjoyed the bistella di bue con patate (£14.95), a steak as juicy as a melon, accompanied by some equally excellent tiny roast potatoes. But the real high point was the brasato di manzo (£12.95), a slowly-cooked braised beef stew. Leavened with tiny black olives and tomatoes that offset the lashings of chianti, it was rich without being heavy. The accompanying side of polenta arrived in the shape of a slice of focaccia, striped with the marks of the griddle, it was as crispy as toast but broke like freshly baked soda bread.
Our daughter tore herself away from the pencils – eventually – to dig into spaghetti with ragu, part of a £6.50 set menu for kids that also included a drink and dessert. What was especially nice about the ragu was that it was richer than the children’s food they serve in most big restaurants, but was not so challenging that she wouldn’t eat it. So top marks for daring to serve kids food that’s not bland.
For dessert we enjoyed panna cotta (£4.75), a traditional vanilla and rum flavoured cream enlivened with candied orange and a lovely coppa di gelato all’amarena (£5.25), essentially an ice cream sundae with amarena cherries, dense and cool, it spoke of the seaside even on the overcast Autumn day that rained down outside.
Carluccio’s might have lost some of its bohemian bliss as it’s marched up and down the country opening up reasonably-priced restaurants that serve a range of regional italian food, but it still does it with a level of flair that feels authentic. That’s the real attraction of the chain. Italy has a wonderfully diverse kitchen, which rewards those that stray from the Neopolitan pasta and pizza we usually stick to in the UK. Think of it this way. They don’t serve pizza in Carluccio’s and yet how often do they serve polenta in your local pizza restaurant?
For more information or to book a table visit www.carluccios.com