| Restaurant
Guide
An Italian abroad
Don’t be fooled by the Chinese overtones, Leone
D’Oro is deliciously
Italian, says Hannah Latham.
Leone D’Oro means
golden lion - not an obvious name to guide dizzy hunger-mongers
venturing down Preston Street. The lion’s head logo
and a glance at sweet and sour chicken, or monkfish in coconut
sauce on the menu could have you duped into thinking it
was a Chinese restaurant. It is in fact Italian, despite
being in Brighton's Little China.
Leone D'Oro, open since June, is part of the Royal Pavilion
Townhouse in Regency Square, so the oriental connotations
are a deliberate continuum from the Prince Regent's inspired
décor. Live musicians, suave staff, Da Vinci sketches,
blacked out windows for that I'm A Celebrity Get Me In Here
feel and a minimalist, comfortable interior create the atmosphere
of a modern Italian bistro.
In true Brightonian style, I turned up in fading cords and
a wrap-around yoga-hoody, not suspecting I would be underdressed.
A grave error, although the only interested party was my
date, who had a fit over her lack of chic black attire.
Our fast-talking host Fabio whisked us downstairs to the
cocktail lounge to order our meal and enjoy the strongest
Cosmopolitian (£4) and Margarita (£4) we've
ever had.
Once in the restaurant our wine and massive starters came
shortly, served with friendly and non-invasive expertise.
My sardines with white wine, garlic, lemon, orange and pinenut
(£4.95) was beautifully tangy and went well with our
bottle of sweet white Orvieto Classico Amabile Doc Toscana
Umbria (£16.50). My date's starter – fresh prawns
rolled in smoked salmon with spicy pink sauce (£6.95)
– was really just a glorified prawn cocktail, however
the smoked salmon was generously thick.
Our main course was stylishly presented. I had the Lake
Como speciality pork in apple and pistachio sauce (£12.50)
– tender bits of meat in a delicious sweet stew with
crunchy pistachios. My date was even happier with her mixed
mushroom cream risotto (£7), which was a perfect balance
of nutty creaminess. By this time our wine was a bit too
sweet, especially with the thought of dessert. The menu
could have had a few pointers and more vegetarian choices
please!
Caramelised pineapple and drambuie or homemade pancakes
with vanilla ice cream and strawberries were tempting, but
as full as we were, a fruity sorbet trio and what turned
out to be slightly dull berry cheesecake (all £4)
seemed manageable. After what was on the whole a satisfying
dining experience we hummed ‘The Girl From Ipanema’
all the way home.
Food: Modern Italian
Atmosphere: Humming but chilled and chic
Drinks: Strong cocktails and extensive
wine
Price: Around £30 each for 3-courses
with drinks
Leone D'Oro
76-78 Preston Street. Tel: 01273 722214.
Open for food: Mon-Sat 12-2.30pm & 5.30-11pm, Sun 12-11pm.
copyright The Insight 2004
|
