Dolcevita ‘soft-launched’ shortly before Christmas but opened its doors to the public on January 5.
On Wednesday (January 27) I headed down to Corbets Tey Road and stopped by for lunch.
The restaurant is inviting with a contemporary black shop front, red lettering and a couple of tables and chairs set outside.
Dolcevita opened in January (Image: Gianni Cirillo)
Inside, the colour theme develops into a range of greens and greys – setting the Mediterranean tone.
I was greeted warmly by owner Murat Halis who showed me to a table and asked me what I fancied.
I asked for his recommendations to which he told me the pizza and pasta dishes were all “very good”.
After serving me a cold bottle of coke with a glass of ice, I decided to order the calamari fritti for my starter and the doppio pepperoni pizza for main course – both a fair test of the quality of an Italian restaurant.
Dolcevita is decorated internally in greens and greys (Image: Gianni Cirillo)
The calamari arrived hot, evidently fresh and nicely presented on a bed of salad leaves.
Often with starters like this, the leaves are just for show and rarely seasoned but these were drizzled with olive oil and had a pinch of ground black pepper which made them a tasty accompaniment to the squid.
The calamari itself was nicely coated in a light batter.
I fancy myself as quite the calamari connoisseur and I assumed these squid rings had been coated in a dry, flour-based mix rather than a wet mix before frying which can risk leaving the calamari soggy.
This wasn’t the case at Dolcevita though – the rings held a nice crunch and made for an overall pleasant starter.
I had calamari fritti for my starter (Image: Gianni Cirillo)
The tartare sauce was nice but personally I would prefer a garlic or chilli aioli to accompany by calamari.
Whilst waiting for my pizza to arrive, I took in more of the internal design – olive branch paintings and attractive, hexagonal-patterned chairs that were very comfy.
Murat told me that he plans to get an artist in to decorate the walls with paintings in the near future.
I saw my pizza being prepped and cooked behind the front counter and it arrived piping hot.
I had a pepperoni pizza for my main course (Image: Gianni Cirillo)
After allowing it to cool for a few minutes, I tucked in and was thoroughly impressed with the crispy base.
Each piece held its structure well and didn’t flop, droop or fold like so many pizzas do.
The pepperoni was good quality – incomparable to the mass-produced pepperoni you find on shop-bought pizzas – and had a subtle kick of spice.
The tomato sauce base was well balanced and contained hints of oregano whilst the mozzarella provided an impressive cheese pull on each slice.
Both dishes are Italian staples and were very well executed.
Dolcevita seems a great addition to one of Upminster’s busiest roads and I’d certainly return try some of the other dishes – pasta next!
Dining and Cooking