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EATING
OUT
La
dolce vita
Veronica
Groocock tucks in at La Piazza
 There
is no shortage of Italian restaurants in Brighton and Hove
but, in terms of both quality and ambience, La Piazza must
surely rank as one of the city's finest. The place has changed
beyond recognition since a radical make-over about three
years ago. When manager Angie Maccarone first arrived from
her native Australia, the style was "very olde-Italian,
dark wood, Caesar busts". Since then La Piazza has
been transformed into an imaginatively designed, atmospheric
venue: light, laid-back, yet stylish. Its low-key lighting,
big windows, tall mirrors and colourful abstract paintings,
all help to create an air of bold, contemporary elegance.
Cool, definitely, but never pretentious.
The
food is outstandingly good, the portions massively generous.
We took our time choosing from the menu, which is vast and
seductively varied. Where to begin? I decided on one of
my favourite starters, prosciutto e melone - parma ham with
fresh melon (£5.75), which did not disappoint. Jill,
my companion for the evening, opted more adventurously for
gamberoni marinati - spicy prawns marinated in garlic, ginger,
coriander, cumin and honey (£5.95).
By the
time the main course arrived, we were well into a bottle
of Pinot Grigio (£12.95) which more than matched its
description of "immediately attractive, full, fruity
and very elegant..."
Pizza
and pasta fans are spoiled for choice and I was tempted
by the prospect of a pasta romane, but opted instead for
a fish dish. Torn between fillet of sole and grilled seabass
in lemon sauce, I finally plumped for the fillet of sole
cooked in a shallot, courgette, watercress and cream sauce,
topped with roasted pine nuts (£12.95), which was
extremely tasty and filling, and magnificently presented.
Jill was equally enthusiastic about her breast of duck cooked
in a pistachio nut, prune and madeira wine sauce (£12.95).
The sauces are really special, a subtle blend of distinctive
flavours, piquant and succulent. Each course was served
with potatoes and garden vegetables cooked al dente.
The
service is friendly yet unobtrusive, and there's the sense
that, to be properly savoured, a good meal is to be lingered
over. So we left a decent interval before ordering a sweet,
taking time out to tune into our surroundings and check
out the clientele. There was a nice mix of ages, including
a small but high-spirited party of young women. It was someone's
birthday and all of them were clearly having a terrific
time. A plus point about La Piazza is its spaciousness:
no chair legs scraping against each other or waiters literally
breathing down your neck as, precariously laden with plates,
they squeeze between the tables. Another bonus was the absence
of muzak.
To round
off a perfect meal, I tucked into a larger-than-average
cream caramel, but not before sampling Jill's chocolate
mousse topped with delicate slivers of white chocolate.
She wound up with an amaretto, but I called a halt and wandered
out into the night, drowsy but happy.
Essential
information
Food: excellent, with several veggie options. Starters from
£3.25 upwards; main courses begin at £4.95 (eg
pasta napoli). VAT included. Children's menu: £3.50.
Lunchtime set menu: £6.95.
Service: Attentive but unobtrusive.
Atmosphere: Buzzy but relaxed, stylish.
LA PIAZZA
70 Church Road
Hove, East Sussex.
Tel: 01273 771739.
Open: Sunday to Thursday: 11.30am -11pm
Friday and Saturday: 11.30am -11.30pm
copyright New Insight 2002
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