Fun, vibrant and endlessly shareable, Totti’s is a place for everyone. Litres of Negroni for the primed and primped Sunday-sessions crowd, orange cordial for the kids, big charry pillows of wood-fired bread with snacks – San Daniele prosciutto, burrata drenched in olive oil and heirloom tomatoes among them – for all and sundry. Enthusiastic waitstaff encourage sharing, and it’s a good idea, but dishes as moreish as an al dente linguine coated in bright green pesto and smothered in herbs and parmesan may convince otherwise. Vegetables continue to shine in sides of broccolini jazzed up with anchovy and almonds, or in a creamy, chilli-spiked corn polenta, accompanying mains such as a whole roast chicken from the wood oven, crisp of skin, juicy of flesh. Come dessert, classics with a sense of play are the main brief, but the highlight is the simple tart of the day with buttery, shortcrust pastry encasing seasonal fruits – autumn plums and pear, perhaps. The piazza-like courtyard, complete with gnarled olive tree, is transportive and abuzz, the room warm and welcoming, and then there’s the no-frills pub, The Royal, at the front. Indeed, a place for all. Bravo Merivale.
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