Fidelio Review
From Moscowiki
| Fidelio |
Address: Bolshaya Bronnaya ul., 27/4
Metro: Pushkinskaya
Tel: 506-0033 / 5533, 694-5476
Open from 12:00 until 24:00.
All major credit cards are accepted.
At last - an Italian restaurant for the rest of us.
By Neil McGowan
Perhaps I am just ungainly and chronically unhip, but I always feel self-conscious in Italian restaurants. They divide into three kinds, and all three are awful in a different way. First there is the kind decorated with plastic grape-vines and wine-flasks wrapped in ornamental straw. Next is the kind trying to look like Marie Antoinette's boudoir, all gold-leaf and pseudo-antique furniture, and finally there's the sort decorated with the left-over furniture from the film set of a Joan Collins 1980's soft-porno movie (lots of matt black and chrome). Let's face it - unless you are grape-treading peasant, minor aristocracy or Oliver Tobias, your chances of looking at ease in these environments are severely limited.
Until now, that is. Slotted neatly into what was previously a very average tapas-bar comes "Fidelio". Don't let the operatic title dishearten you - this is the perfect antidote to the overblown "grand opera"style of Italian eatery. Despite the cellar location the ceilings are high and spacious, and white walls and clever lighting set a relaxed but bright tone. Soft unstructured sofas with pillows to curl-up in encourage lounging and relaxing over your meal - charming and helpful service keeps things mellifluously mellow. Il padrone himself, Antonio Lafuria, makes frequent forays into the dining room, greeting the guests and taking a genuine interest in their reaction to the food.
At the heart of the menu is neither the only-too-common selection of pastas or pizza, nor even fish dishes, but a dazzling selection of grilled meats and poultry, prepared in a selection of delicious marinades. It's worth bearing this in mind and basing the rest of your meal around it. However, for anyone keeping the Lenten Fast, or who isn't too enthused about meat, there are some highly original main courses to choose from too. The grills are all prepared freshly and take a little time to emerge from the kitchen - so keep this in mind too, especially if your time-window isn't unlimited.
We shared two appetisers - the Insalata Exotica (330Rb) which came bursting with vitamins and fresh ingredients (and no mayonnaise, hooray!), and tongue-tantalising Salmon Carpaccio (380Rb), an enormous portion of tender marinated fish, delicately perfumed with spices and herbs, and practically a meal in itself. My dining companion was in rehearsals for a new stage role, and although we weren't keeping the Fast, the lightness of the cuisine and its low calorie count brought perceptible joy to the thespian facial features.
Those delicious grills proved too tempting for her, however, and accepting the solemn advice of the waiter that the Chicken alla Diavolo contained "very few calories", she pitched in with abandon and all backstage gossip ceased forthwith - replaced instead with muted "yum-yum" noises of obvious enthusiasm. The grills are ordered by weight - a medium half-chicken portion weighed in at 407Rb. My interest was piqued by the Risotto with Black Squid Ink (Risotto al nero di sepia, 150Rb), which was superbly prepared, avoiding either smudginess or hard rice-grains, and brought to the table when deliciously al dente. I would happily eat this for breakfast, lunch and tea if I could find a way to get it delivered.
I passed on the dessert, but you can't lecture an actress about sticky sweets - especially when they are neither sticky nor sweet. The Strawberries in Balsamic Vinegar (Fragola con aceto balsamico, 220Rb) are the dessert you can eat between meals without losing your role at the theatre.
The bar menu sensibly offers seasonal wine promotions - we stuck to a delicious Col di Sasso at 150Rb per glass, and it went down extremely easily. Fresh-squeezed juices weigh in rather pricily - more than the wine at 180Rb, but in a large 250ml glass and deliciously refreshing.
We were not watching the bill as we had things to celebrate, but the welcome is just as warm and the atmosphere just as elegantly cosy if you dine further down the price-scale - for example, my 150Rb risotto must be one of the best bargains in Moscow.
If you yearn to jettison the client-lunch brigade and relax over luscious food for as long as you like with friends and laughter, Fidelio might be a very good bet.
01.04.04.
