Enoteca Rabezzana: The Smithfield Restaurant Serving Carbonara Soup
Looks like this article is a bit old. Be aware that information may have changed since it was published.
Last Updated 18 April 2019
Carbonara soup. It's a thing.
And the blame/credit for bringing it into our lives — depending on how you feel about rich, cheese-thick, eggy broth — goes to Enoteca Rabezzana. Federico Casali's version comes topped with truffle, with a sous vide egg dunked in the middle and waiting to be stirred through.
It's not going to be for everybody; for maximum stir-ability the egg's in that borderland state, with wobbly, near-translucent white, giving a slight brace-yourself, hangover cure, feel to the dish. And it's intensely rich, better shared or treated like a small, powerful main course than (as we did) hoovered up as a starter. But it's also hard to resist when it's right there in front of you, tasting like mountain winters.
It's not even the best thing we eat this evening. Or the most interesting. That award goes to the tonnarello with red mullet, pistachio pesto and lime butter. Rich and fresh, the slippery al dente bite of the pasta is laced through with the soft flaky surrender of the fish: it's a difficult dish to talk about without your adjectives slipping into distinctly Mills & Boon territory. Nothing in there is an unknown quantity, but the butter-richness, citrus punch and graininess of the pistachio are yoked together in a way that's compellingly new.
The wine list is a combination of an Italian devotion to regionality and unpretentious good-times — and a Square Mile ability to pay for that. There are several bottles clustered around the £28 mark, but the majority sit in the thirties or higher. But even the ones that leave you feeling a fair bit lighter of pocket, should also leave you feeling lighter of heart: these are lovingly chosen, poetically delivered up bottles, rather than average wines with steep mark-ups. And while the prices aren't low, they do crucially, feel fair for the quality.
That's true of Enoteca Rabezzana across the board: not the cheapest slice of Dolce Vita you can find in London, but a pretty enchanting one.
Enoteca Rabezzana, 62-63 Long Lane, EC1A 9EJ.
View this post on Instagram🍇🔁 @rabezzanalondon _ #thevine #comingsoon #sacramento #california @sac.tv #wine #food
