Send to a friend

Print

del.icio.us this

Digg this

Vincenzo’s Cucina Vera

Everything is possible in a restaurant with no menu. Working alone at the stoves with ingredients that inspire him, Vincenzo LaMontagna creates a new dégustation each night, with the number of courses and preferred foods negotiable. On the floor of the unassuming villa, Lara Marro guides diners carefully through nightly offerings and a list of élite international wines, many by the glass. This thrilling high-wire act takes time to unfold but produces spectacular surprises: aged lamb backstrap topped with saltbush and powdered roast vegies; glorious snail-shaped pasta with slow-braised pheasant, truffle and parmesan; trifle with elderflower custard. The one constant is a superior salumi board, the meats cured by the chef himself. Desserts are fun and fanciful; try the chocolate and rum-soaked sponge cube styled like a lollipop, with a smoking vanilla pod as the stick.