TALBOT GREEN
La Trattoria’s a real Italian treat!

Whenever we go on holiday, I like to find out where the locals eat. It's usually the best food in the area, the most authentic and, more often than not, it's reasonably priced.

I like the idea of dining out, off the beaten track - finding a family run restaurant where the food is superb and the atmosphere is really friendly and relaxed. Somewhere, quite honestly, I wouldn't really want to share with anyone else. Well, La Trattoria in Talbot Green is an excellent example of just that kind of restaurant.

With its unassuming frontage, you'd be forgiven if you missed it driving past. Talking about driving, the first thing I'd say is that we found parking outside quite easy as there were plenty of spaces along the road.

We had arranged to meet some friends there from Penarth which is roughly twenty minutes away (up the link road - a quick dash up the M4 and off at junction 34 and head towards Llantrisant).

Inside, the restaurant has a homely, authentic feel with plenty of memorabilia from Italy. Owner Saverio Florimonte and his family have a house and an olive grove there and they import their own olive oil into the UK and very nice it is too. I can testify to this as we enjoyed a selection of homemade breads and olive oil to get our taste buds going while we scanned the menu.

Looking around La Trattoria, as we considered our choices, it struck me that the restaurant was quite busy for a Wednesday evening (busy mid-week, that's always a good sign).



We ordered a Prosecco (Casabianca) at £19.90 to freshen our palates and a silky smooth Merlot (Terramere) at £14.50 to see us through our main course. To start, I ordered charred Calamari with oven baked tomatoes which was beautiful. My wife enjoyed Funghi al Gorganzola - Portobello mushrooms with Gorganzola cheese, pine nuts, sultanas and spinach.

Our friend Roger had the Melanzane alla griglia e taleggio (a vegetarian option) which consisted of aromatic taleggio cheese wrapped in aubergine and Debs chose the Timballo di Gamberetti, a salad of rock prawns and crab, with watercress and beetroot juice. We all agreed the starters were superb and couldn't wait for our mains.

My wife usually chooses steak but this time she was hooked by the Monkfish with spinach, mashed potatoes and artichoke sauce (Coda di rospo royal) although, I suspect, after seeing Debs' Filetto di manzo al pepe - a beautifully cooked fillet of beef with peppercorn sauce, served with grilled field mushrooms and hand cut chips, she had second thoughts.

My wife usually chooses steak but this time she was hooked by the Monkfish with spinach, mashed potatoes and artichoke sauce (Coda di rospo royal) although, I suspect, after seeing Debs' Filetto di manzo al pepe - a beautifully cooked fillet of beef with peppercorn sauce, served with grilled field mushrooms and hand cut chips, she had second thoughts.

To finish, I just had to go with the classic Tiramisu (Mascarpone, expresso coffee and Tia Maria). It was rich and rounded off the meal perfectly. My wife chose Rich Vanilla Pannacotta (Wildberry and Zabaglione sauce) which she finished off with enthusiasm. Our guests chose the Crème Brulee - crème di formaggio, double cream, biscotti and forest fruits. Both agreed it was the best crème brulee they'd had in a long, long time.

La Trattoria also runs a cookery school so we've all decided to enrol. We can choose between Franco Taruschio OBE (of Walnut Tree fame), Enrico De Vita or Saverio himself. That's a hard choice or we could just book all three!

La Trattoria 9-11 Talbot Road Talbot Green CF72 8AD 01443 223399