Nucci,
443-451 Antrim Road,
Belfast,
BT15 3BJ.
028 9022 8345
nucci.co.uk
Few cuisines do dogma like Italian, with its ‘authentic’ dishes never to be meddled with unless you want to be accused of committing a mortal sin against an entire people – as well as their mammas and nonnas.
It’s why Alberto Grandi manages to stir up impassioned controversy rather more often than a professor of economics and business management might usually expect to.
Among the claims made by the University of Parma academic that have riled up his compatriots is the three-headed monster troll/revelation that the only ‘traditional’ Parmesan comes from Wisconsin, pizza as we know it is basically a New York thing and the home of carbonara is Chicago. Mamma, and indeed, mia.
Pasta carbonara Nord Irlandese at Nucci
Whether or not any of this is actually true is up for debate and question. Although whether or not it matters is, as far as I’m concerned, an open and shut case. It doesn’t.
Being ‘authentic’ – however possible that is – matters far less than being good.
This came up the last time I had a carbonara in a Belfast restaurant. It wasn’t ‘authentic’. Nor, unfortunately, was it good.
Similarly, a carbonara sticking prescriptively to eggs, pecorino and guanciale has no divine right to be better than a plate of pasta with a slosh of cream, Parmesan and pancetta. Or even bacon and a bit of chicken.
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Nucci on the Antrim Road in north Belfast is an Italian restaurant, but one that will also do you a burger and chips or, earlier in the day, an eggs Benedict or a whopping fry with a cup of tea.
But pizza and pasta is at the heart of the place, and among the pasta is an intriguing inclusion.
Nucci in north Belfast is an Italian restaurant, but one that also serves burgers and breakfasts PICTURE: SAOIRSE CAMPBELL
Below the spaghetti carbonara is a more localised version of the dish – pasta carbonara Nord Irlandese. My Italian is virtually non-existent, but even I can work that one out.
The only difference, apart from substituting penne for spaghetti, which is something you’ll find on the streets of Rome just as likely as Belfast, is the addition of cream.
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It’s such a charming conceit that it demands to be ordered. And it’s proof positive that authenticity isn’t everything.
The pasta is perfectly cooked, the slick of egg and cream is never cloying, the level of saltiness brought by the cheese and meat – Parmesan and pancetta in both versions, as it happens – just right along with a proper dose of black pepper any carbonara requires.
It’s a lovely plate of food that goes a fair way to encapsulating the Nucci experience.
Calamari at Nucci
The arancini have a perfectly good bolognese/rice mixture spilling out of their crisp exterior which all gets a bit messy, though not in an unpleasant way, with a simple but well-judged salad of rocket and balsamic a nice counterpoint to the rich rice.
It’s not bad, but is entirely trumped by the calamari, which is a much better example of the art of deep frying.
The squid is perfectly cooked, with the slightest bite under a light but powerful dusting of well-peppered coating, whose crunch hangs around from the moment they hit the table piping hot to the minute the plate is empty about 10 seconds later. Maybe not that quickly but not by much, with punchy, wobbly aioli reeking of garlic and demanding to be introduced to the squid.
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Equally good friends come in the form of the chicken Parmesan, which in common with the cross-cultural pollination elsewhere carries strong Italian American vibes with thick slices of aubergine in between a generous cutlet of chicken and its ultimate toppings of tomato sauce and cheese. It’s a hefty – all the portions are generous – no nonsense thing that’s well cooked and as complimentary in its constituent parts as it is to a big disc of golden garlic bread, with butter pooling in its little craters.
We’ve covered the carbonara, but it’s worth noting that there’s so much of it that beginning before the starters might not have you finished at this point. And it’s still good.
Tiramisu at Nucci
But it was a lot, so a simple bowl of a decent pistachio ice cream feels like the best option for dessert.
But there’s tiramisu too and, like just about everything else, Nucci pulls it off with no airs or graces, just the few ingredients in the classic well put together so it tastes like a bloody nice tiramisu.
The Limoncello Lemon drop cocktail falls into that category too, a sweet, tart burst of sunshine a million miles away from a dreary Thursday evening Nord Irlandese.
Nucci is a fine place to spend a night like that – in any language.
The billArancini carne £7.95Fried calamari £8.95Chicken Parmesan £17.95Pasta carbonara Nord Irlandese £14.95Garlic bread £5.95Tiramisu £7Pistachio gelato £5Limoncello Lemon Drop £9Sparkling water £2.50
Total £79.25
Dining and Cooking