Trattoria Dante
Simple, quality fare
Dante’s inferno is alive and well in an Italian restaurant in Limassol
TRATTORIA Dante has only been open for a few months yet, despite a few wrinkles, it deserves to succeed. It has started out in the right way, with a small menu that simply states the dishes and their basic components. This in itself is deeply refreshing with zero mention of any foodstuffs being paraded or enveloped in sauces and, mercifully, neither is the word symphony ever mentioned.
The venue is attractive albeit simply decorated, while great care has been taken to retain most of the traditional features of this one time period town house in the heart of Limassol.
We did however question the level of warmth exuded by the welcome mat; the evening we went, the gentleman at reception gave us the distinct impression of being wholeheartedly bored with life and was far too preoccupied to give us anything but a cursory greeting. It was then up to a waiter to direct us to our table, which in the larger scheme of things doesn’t win brownie points from first time customers.
The only other negative point was the size of the table for two; it was far too small with the result we ended up resorting to a form of synchronised use of the cutlery, and throughout the meal being totally dependent on the waiting staff to clear a path to access the salad without recourse to stabbing our dining companion’s hand. Fortunately, we were well looked after by a really charming young waitress who effortlessly, and with great enthusiasm for her job, made up totally for our initial lack lustre welcome and helped us settle into what turned out to be a jolly good meal.
We started with a very tasty Insalata Dante: rocket, parmesan, slivers of fried pitta bread roasted pine nuts sesame seeds and a delicious dressing of olive oil mustard honey and balsamic. My dining partner chose the Antipasto, which came with home-made bread sticks, honourable descendents of the twice baked everlasting ship’s biscuits that kept Italy as a trading empire afloat for centuries. Both starters came in generous portions, so much so that we again had trouble accommodating the two platters on our mini table.
We spotted a very interesting combination of fresh mozzarella, blue cheese, parmesan with tomato and olives being served to couple next to us. And that’s the problem at Dante, you watch as dish after tantalising dish wafts past your table leaving you aching for the introduction of an Italian meze.
Dante’s proprietors are rightly proud of their authentic approach to Italian cuisine and it was only after we were offered a slice of pizza, which was probably the best I have tasted outside of Bologna, we then encountered the genuine ‘Inferno’ in the form of a huge wood burning pizza oven, which looked capable of generating sufficient heat and available space to simultaneously bake sufficient pizzas to keep a small village munching on their Margherita’s.
My lasagne for main course was good, if a little bit overwhelmed by a variety of flavours, for this is a chef who has a definite bold approach to seasoning with every dish served packing a different taste test. Choosing a main course proved difficult for my dining partner; she pondered over a straight forward pasta, the marinated chicken, or the pollo alla gorgonzola, eventually settling for the scaloppini Alfredo. This turned out to be ribbons of pork liberally doused in a creamy black pepper sauce served with tubes of rigatoni and, despite the superb quality, the quantity on offer was such, she had to leave a third of the meat and then had to try (discreetly) to adjust her waistband to cope with the speciality pudding on offer. Dense rivers of chocolate melted into a warm light sponge effectively signed us off from eating for the next three days and despite promises of ‘no pudding please’ it would have taken the discipline of a Buddhist monk to say no to such a sweet soufflé delight.
The other good thing about Dante is, it’s open at lunchtime and during that time it also offers a take away service, so office workers and those weary shoppers visiting town who want a place to sit down and enjoy a decent, freshly made, tasty, and very reasonably priced midday meal, should definatly try a trip.
By Jill Campbell Mackay
Speciality Pizza and good pasta
Seating 60 (plus garden area being built).
Where 242-244 Ayiou Andreou Street, Limassol
Contact 25 747494
Booking essential at week ends
Price around £10 per person without wine
