Bottega Prelibato - The Canteen

I was taken by this charming place once I got in. My very close friend took me there and like me, she likes to try new places and foods. She calls this restaurant her canteen. Going in I understood why.

Every big city such as New York, London, Los Angeles, Paris, has Italian restaurants. I remember living in Montreal and we even had an italian neighborhood...it was carbs wonderland for me! The Italians are everywhere in the world, this is a known fact, and their famous pasta is a staple food in any city you are in the world. Its easy to do and people love it.

What makes a good pasta good? I mean, you can go to a very expensive italian restaurant that call themselves spectular in pasta like Nello's (by the way, the chef is Romanian) in NY, but the secret is to know those hidden places where the family makes the secret receipees. Bottega Prelibato is one of those places that I went once and I had to go before I left. I dream with their gnocchi with mushrooms, porcini cream and truffled oil.

I am no expert is pasta but I do know what I do not like. First of all I'm not a huge fan of gnocchi. Why? Simply because in most restaurants you feel like you are eating the gnocchi with so much flour that in the end, you are eating just flour. Another thing that I am picky are the truffles. In most restaurants in Brazil, I feel like they over do it with the truffles to make the menu more chic or just to make the customer pay more. A good dish with truffles is one that you can feel the hint of the truffles and you don't go home tasting it in your mouth.

Going back to Bottega Prelibato...this charming little place is situated in the Shoreditch neighborhood. Bottega is a deli during the day and it becomes a intimate and authentic italian restaurant during the night. The space is very small, with wooden tables and candles to set a warm and intimate atmosphere. Its blackboard is the menu where you can choose the variety of dishes they offer. The cool this is that the menu changes seasonally and they are very well known for their fresh egg pastas, cured meats, chacuterie and pecorino cheese. There is an extensive wine list mostly from Italy especially Tuscany and Puglia at a reasonable price.

We went to have a drink at one of the local bars near the restaurant before. Like I said, my friend kept telling me that I was going to love this place so I was very keen to trying it. Shoreditch has become one of those neighborhoods that is very lively and with plenty of artsy people. Its a side of London where you don't feel in London, and it feels like a part of London does not sleep. We went in the restaurant 9 pm sharply. As a starter we ordered a burrata with a Marco Bonfante Barbera D'Asti wine along with one of the specialities of the house - a hot encrusted cheese. My main dish was gnocchi, mushrooms, porcini cream and truffled oil which was heaven on a plate and to end a tiramisu.

Like I said earlier, I had to return to the restaurant before I left London. Surely, I will come back to this little discovery since it became a special place to me.

Stay tuned for more to come. Xx

Address; 45 Rivington St, EC2A 3QB, London.

http://www.bottegaprelibato.com