Enoteca Rabezzana is a place where Italian wine and produce meet. Away from what we often know as Italian food, here real cooking from this famous European country reflects its authentic culinary touchpoints, elevated by a strong collection of wines to compliment.
Endeavouring to position this humble restaurant as a gourmet Italian hotspot in London, Enoteca Rabezzana’s head chef Federico Casali has recently launched a new menu. With a culinary heritage honed at Rome’s three Michelin starred restaurant, La Pergola under chef Heinz Beck, his new menu sets the stage for his Italian crafted culinary skills across pasta, fish and meat courses, all designed to be paired with the restaurant’s extensive wine portfolio.
Served within a relaxed wine bar setting nearby Smithfield Market, from 12pm to close, Federico’s new menu encourages diners to start with small plates and a charcuterie offering. Boards ideal for sharing include the ‘Tagliere Misto di Salumi e Formaggi’: a selection of cured meats and cheeses. This sits alongside the ‘Mix Bruschetta Classica e ‘Nduja’: a mix of bruschetta, burrata and Nduja sausage. Also on offer is the 40 months aged XXL Parma ham, imported directly from small suppliers in Italy and named as one the top ten charcuterie items of excellence in Italy.
Federico’s menu focuses on quality not quantity made with authentic Italian produce. Small dishes include ‘Polpo con ‘nduja, borlotti e scalogno’ (a combination of grilled octopus, beans, nduja and shallots) or the slow cooked ‘Egg 63’ served with parmigiano fondue and fresh truffle. Other highlights to note here – the ‘Paccheri con ragu di cinghiale e granella di parmigiano’ (Paccheri with wild boar ragu) and the ‘Tonnarello al burro di lime, triglia e pesto di pistachio’ (Tonnarello lime butter, red mullet and pistachio pesto). A refined selection of meat and fish dishes extend to grilled seabass fillet with caponata, beef rump steak with bone marrow, braised ox cheeks with black cabbage and chestnuts as well as lamb chops with gorgonzola.
With a team of experienced sommeliers, Enoteca Rabezzana allows diners to try more expensive wines by the glass than most other places of a similar field, making it a destination for both the wine aficionado as well as the less educated wine drinker. Confident on pairing each dish with a recommended wine, Enoteca Rabezzana take pride in their wine selection as much as they do their new menu and is something different to what you expect from a typical Italian restaurant.
Predominantly sourced directly from owners, Enoteca Rabezzana has a collection of over 120 wines from small producers in every corner of Italy. One particular area the wine collection focuses its attention on is from the region of Piedmont, where Rabezzana Vini, one of the founders, has been making wines since 1876 and has a relationship with some of the best producers from small vineyards in Langhe region.
Address: 62-63 Long Ln, London EC1A 9EJ / rabezzana.co.uk
