Briciole (Bar, Restaurant)

Top 10 things we learnt about Briciole restaurant:

1) It’s true; some places are so good you want to keep them a secret. Briciole is a genuinely authentic Italian trattoria in Marylebone.

2) It also has a deli and café-bar. In residential Edgware, it keeps things simple and authentic - from the rustic décor to the meats and cheeses. Locals linger here, chatting and nibbling. Briciole could double their footfall if they weren’t so relaxed; but as they, you should relax too.

3) Because Umberto and his team at the restaurant are so accommodating, booking is advisable. It’s a pleasure to eat at an Italian pace, so you don’t want to be turned away.

4) Briciole means breadcrumbs. They make their own bread on-site, in fact it’s a cottage industry; their own bread, their own bread sticks, their own olive oil and vinegar reduction, all for sale at the deli.

5) Ask the locals, don’t just consult the guidebook! The wine list is huuuuuuge so take staff recommendations. We were offered a sharp Prosecco to start with and the Umbrian Rubesco Rosso was a great choice with lots of interesting mineral tones to give definition to the big, bold, flavours of the food.

6) Ham and cheese steals the show. Umbrian wild boar sausage and Burrata cheese from Puglia were knockout and reasonably priced. A Burrata is a huge mozzarella filled with a soft centre – it’s beyond indulgent as cheese literally oozes more cheese. The taste and texture is light though, not cloying, transporting you straight to the Italian countryside.

7) The restaurant also makes all its own, sumptuous pasta. Pumpkin ravioli are flying saucers of taste, offering an intergalactic struggle between bitter radicchio and sweet pumpkin. Slurp up the soft laser beams of Italian dolce vita.

8) Everyone likes ice cream, at Briciole they even make their cheese taste like ice cream. The Sicilian cannoli with ricotta cheese, candied orange and chocolate looks like a pancake, is the size of a small tree trunk and takes ricotta cheese to a whole new place.

9) Limoncello allows you to master another sweet moment, even if it is the digestive equivalent of a long one with a cocktail umbrella in it.

10) Like any good holiday, always get a souvenir. Their olive oil is liquid sunshine and the vinegar thick and slightly sticky – a magic wand that turns humble bread into delicious Briciole....read more