Casa Romana, Carlisle: 'Hope they change absolutely nothing' - restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants
Casa Romana in Carlisle is an unrebuilt Anglo-Italian restaurant which celebrated its 30th anniversary earlier this month. It used to be a regular pit stop for my gang before a jamiroquai night of shimming at the nearby Pagoda nightclub. We went to Casa Romana for a bowl of carbonara, a hot frizzante and a laugh.
It was real Italian food, I thought, until what makes my head spin later Anna Del Conte and Rose Gray whispered in my ear that food from Puglia, Florence or Sicily could be tricky and required thought, skillful seasoning and a fine base of soffritto. I learned that the prepared lentils, white beans and leaves were authentic, and the sambuca salmon fillet probably wasn't. I also learned that expecting an Italian restaurant to serve balls of dough was kind of awkward, apparently, and that the bread in my ribollita was the way the humble peasants lived and they loved it. p>
I still love places like Casa Romana despite everything. Big, crowded, far from London, unpretentious and a 'happy hour' from lunch until 6pm every Saturday, when they serve three courses for £16.75. Locanda Locatelli in Marylebone it's not - and thank goodness because the last time I was there the bill came and I took my glasses off hoping for a linguine smear all'astice on my bifocals had made the green the salad seem to cost 18.50. In these trying times, even those familiar with Neapolitan techniques or the tomes of Antonio Carluccio return to brilliant places like Casa Romana: street restaurants with wipeable menus, breaded garlic mushrooms, huge pepper shakers and, in some cases, the service staff who you suspect aren't as Italian when speaking in the kitchen.
These places are a long way from the River Cafe, where you sit downwind from the Beckhams and Stanley Tucci, but they will make you a good mozzarella and ham calzone, and a bomb of honeycomb ice cream for after parties. Americans call them "mom and pop restaurants", which is perhaps a derogatory term for people in the food scene, but for me...
Casa Romana in Carlisle is an unrebuilt Anglo-Italian restaurant which celebrated its 30th anniversary earlier this month. It used to be a regular pit stop for my gang before a jamiroquai night of shimming at the nearby Pagoda nightclub. We went to Casa Romana for a bowl of carbonara, a hot frizzante and a laugh.
It was real Italian food, I thought, until what makes my head spin later Anna Del Conte and Rose Gray whispered in my ear that food from Puglia, Florence or Sicily could be tricky and required thought, skillful seasoning and a fine base of soffritto. I learned that the prepared lentils, white beans and leaves were authentic, and the sambuca salmon fillet probably wasn't. I also learned that expecting an Italian restaurant to serve balls of dough was kind of awkward, apparently, and that the bread in my ribollita was the way the humble peasants lived and they loved it. p>
I still love places like Casa Romana despite everything. Big, crowded, far from London, unpretentious and a 'happy hour' from lunch until 6pm every Saturday, when they serve three courses for £16.75. Locanda Locatelli in Marylebone it's not - and thank goodness because the last time I was there the bill came and I took my glasses off hoping for a linguine smear all'astice on my bifocals had made the green the salad seem to cost 18.50. In these trying times, even those familiar with Neapolitan techniques or the tomes of Antonio Carluccio return to brilliant places like Casa Romana: street restaurants with wipeable menus, breaded garlic mushrooms, huge pepper shakers and, in some cases, the service staff who you suspect aren't as Italian when speaking in the kitchen.
These places are a long way from the River Cafe, where you sit downwind from the Beckhams and Stanley Tucci, but they will make you a good mozzarella and ham calzone, and a bomb of honeycomb ice cream for after parties. Americans call them "mom and pop restaurants", which is perhaps a derogatory term for people in the food scene, but for me...
What's Your Reaction?
