Trullo, Highbury

Trullo, Highbury

28 February, 2012
by: Tom Jeffreys

Tom Jeffreys is both very impressed and a little confused by the new basement restaurant/bar at Trullo.

Every morning, for the best part of six months, I used to pass by Trullo on the number 30 bus from my soon-to-be lady wife's warehouse flat in Hackney Wick to Spoonfed Towers in glamorous Islington. And every morning she'd mention that we really ought to eat there some time, and so I'd promise to book a table, and then never did. It was a sort of running joke – not a particularly funny one, but hey ho.

Anyway, finally we've made it here – not to the by now well-established main restaurant on the ground floor, but to the recently opened basement area, that's going, logically enough, by the name of Trullo Downstairs. The schtick here is a little different from the restaurant proper, with the emphasis placed on cocktails and sharing dishes rather than a full-blown three-course meal. This fusion of bar and restaurant is something a lot of places try, but it's actually surprisingly difficult to get right. I'm not sure Trullo have entirely pulled it off – this still feels like a restaurant rather than a bar I'd come to for drinks and then end up staying for the food. The simple addition of some sofas or other informal seating might help in this regard.

The other slight issue is that the menu is, understandably, more restricted than upstairs. This causes disappointment from Ms Lillet who, whilst waiting outside for me to turn up, rather set her heart on the brill served with agretti (some strange sort of shrub apparently) that she'd spied advertised on the menu outside.

Having said that, we're here on a Friday evening and the place is pleasantly full, so what do I know? And in truth my gripes are pretty minor ones, because once you start tucking in to what's on offer, it rather ceases to matter whether Trullo Downstairs is a bar or a restaurant or some slightly confusing half-way house between the two. By and large, everything we eat and drink here is excellent, and also very reasonably priced.

Ms Lillet kicks off with a delightful rhubarb Bellini (£8) while I opt for a 'dark' Negroni. Normally I'd say never to mess with my Negroni, but here some bright spark has thought to add a sprig of burnt rosemary, and the bitterness combines perfectly with the medicinal flavour of the Campari. It's the sort of touch – subtle but interesting – that assures you the right kinds of thought-processes are taking place here. Later, my Trullo Sbagliato (£9) confirms this impression: a light, expertly balanced combination of Campari, quince liqueur, orange bitters and prosecco.

The food menu is based around a sharing approach, with dishes derived from the most popular ones served upstairs, so an edited greatest hits in effect. We order a selection of delicious little goodies – a yummy wedge of spinach and tomato frittata (£3); a homely salt cod brushetta topped with soft-boiled egg (£5); and a rich salad of roasted Jerusalem artichokes with a thick Gorgonzola sauce (£4.50) – before moving on to the more substantial courses

Black Hampshire pork chop (the most expensive dish at £10) comes perfectly cooked – fat both crisp and gooey – atop a hearty mound of borlotti beans, with a punchy little dressing of salsa rossa to give things a lift. Then comes the real highlight: a plate of pappardelle with rich, oily, meaty beef shin ragu. With the long-lingering depth of flavour that marks a great ragu, this is Italian food at its simple, classic best. Utterly divine.

The only let-downs on the food front are a mackerel fillet (£6.50) which is overpowered by a far too boisterous horseradish crème fraiche (all nose tingle and no real flavour) and my dessert of caramel pannacotta (£6) which is a bit too sweet for my liking. It's more than made up for by Ms Lillet's perfect rhubarb and almond upside down cake (£6.50), which she grudgingly agrees to let me taste (in the interests of journalism, of course).

All in all, Trullo Downstairs is a real success. The food's great, the cocktails are excellent, the service is knowledgeable and friendly (although perhaps a little too speedy, if that's possible). As a keenly priced entry to the Trullo approach, it works so well that, finally, I'm going to get round to booking a table in the main restaurant. And by then, hopefully, they'll have a sofa or two downstairs on which I can glug a cocktail beforehand.



www.trullorestaurant.com

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Tom Jeffreys