Matthew Lewin restaurant review - Trattoria Nuraghe in Tufnell Park

With an Oscar for best kitchen, how about Sardinia for lunch?

IT has been a few decades since many of us associated Sardinia with kidnapping. But times have changed, and there is far more to the island than that, especially given its cuisine. And now, I am delighted to note, Sardinians have come to live in north London, and many have brought the island’s cooking with them.
Sardinians Oscar Senis and Cristiana Curreli have brought Mediterranean warmth and good food to a particularly drab piece of road near Tufnell Park tube station, in a parade presided over by mini-cab offices and a fried chicken joint.
Trattoria Nuraghe is a small restaurant, without much room for dramatic design, but the rustic decorations are charming, and all it takes is one sniff of the aromas coming from Oscar’s kitchen, and one utterly blinding smile from Cristiana, and you will forget all about tube overcrowding and catching colds.
Our first visit here two years ago was a triumph, and I have been wondering for ages whether it really was as good as we remembered. So we went again this week, and yes it really was that good, even if the prices have crept up very slightly.
On that first visit, we had a selection of Sardinian-style charcuterie, which was so generous that it could easily have fed a multitude, particularly since we also ordered some pane carasau, that unique crisp Sardinian flat bread sometimes known as carta di musica (music sheets).
This time, I went for a simple zuppa di pesce which not only delighted every taste bud in my body, but also cured all my ailments.
My Chief Culinary Adviser, had a superb starter of perfectly just-cooked scallops with baby spinach leaves and a spicy sweet balsamic sauce loaded with garlic.
You only have to glance at the menu to realise that Oscar, is very serious about his food.
How about Culurgiones – typical Sardinian ravioli, filled with the lightest ricotta, pecorino cheese, orange zest, spinach, saffron, served in tomato sauce with basil? Well, I couldn’t resist ordering that, and enjoyed every delicate, citrusy morsel.
My Chief Culinary Adviser – a great afficionado of bottarga (smoked mullet roe) – again chose spaghetti bottarga, with clams, olive oil, garlic, parsley and chilli, and was thrilled. (In Italy they dry the roe and crush it into a powder that is then sprinkled on the pasta.)
There is also an impressive pizza menu, and judging by the splendid one we saw arriving at the next table, groaning with fresh basil leaves, you probably can’t go wrong with one of these.
There are a handful of main courses for people who insist on such things, including a fish stew, calves liver cooked in balsamic vinegar with onions and pistachios, and some lamb cutlets, cooked in wine with artichokes and fregola (fine beads of semolina pasta).
For dessert we shared a very pretty pannacotta in a tall glass, topped with berries.
Our bill, including two glasses of wine, came to just £46 or £23 each – well within the comfort zone!

SUMMARY
Delightful Sardinian trattoria and pizzeria in simple surroundings. Open for dinner all week. About £23 a head, excluding drinks and service. Rating: 4/5

Trattoria Nuraghe
12 Dartmouth Park Hill, NW5
020 7263 4560
www.ristorantenuraghe.co.uk

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