Benoli
Norwich, Norfolk
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Every town needs a good Italian, a spot you can drop into with pals, colleagues, dates, offspring – where you can eat anything from a simple carbonara and affogato to a siesta-inducing feast. As far as Norwich is concerned, Benoli is it. Snack on Cobble Lane coppa, or huge Parmesan croquettes, hot, crisp and showered in cheese. A summery octopus carpaccio could follow; pale, purple-edged slivers arranged prettily, with the mild flavour lifted just enough by pieces of Nocellara olive and grapes, capers, Aleppo pepper and bottarga. Continue in the Italian way with a ‘primo’ of slinkily smooth house-made pasta. Pea and ricotta 'doppio' ravioli are luxuriously butter-rich, with flavours balanced by the simple freshness of peas and generous squeezes of lemon, the whole plate elevated by flutters of summer truffle; ‘carbonara’ comes not with the purists’ spaghetti but pillows of agnolotti, ripples of pancetta and generous amounts of black pepper; and über-classic lobster ravioli in a foaming bisque is everything this classic should be. Ready for another course? Of course you are. It could be wild turbot with a decadently creamy albufera sauce and kohlrabi fondant or sirloin from an ex-dairy cow, or lamb rump with its sweetbreads. Finish with cardamom crema, exquisitely sharp raspberry sorbet and little meringue kisses, or go for broke (and that siesta…) with dulce de leche tiramisu. The compact wine list naturally looks to Italy, with a pair of Languore tipples (Trebbiano and Sangiovese) opening the offer at £24.
