As You may guesss or at least suspect at this point, I am totally for Italian cuisine. I love pastas, plain focaccia, various cheeses. And last but not least – Italians’ attitiude to food and eating. Every meal, even eaten in teh garage or unfinished house is a small celebration – a small pause in life – devoted only to tasting and savouring and cheering with firends. Last few days I have opportunity to visit two great Italian places. One in Wroclaw and one in Warsaw (though one may say that Praga, the right-bank part of the city is Warsaw no more;-). Both are run by Italians: Wrocław based Amalfi by two brothers, Marco & Pascuale, Warsaw based Il Caminetto by Sicilian.

In reviews of both places (I recommend Gastronauci.pl) You may read notso-good things about the design of both places. Yes, objectively they are horrible – artificial plants, trashy and toocolourful pictures, old bottles, irons (?) pans, pots and – of course – TV with some sport channeland fotball (it: „calzio”) going on.

As I said – objectively it’s horrible and taste less. But it is how trattorias in Italy look like. No fancy dishes, tablecloths, furnitures. The atmosphere must be build by people and food. And to both places I will come back for the latter (two Amalfi You might also come back because of  one of the brothers who is serving guests – when I was there two Polish ladies who already had drank too much chianti ask him to marry them both:-).

In Amalfi we have eaten the most simple pizza margherita D.O.C. (wonderful dough, crispy yet soft, with funny bubbles) and tagliatelle mare e monti , with vongole, shrimps and proccini. And white chinati to go with it. Great. Every single bite.

In Il Caminetto (some say that this is the best pizzeria in Warsaw) we took green tagliatelle with fresh ricotta ad spinach (my personal test-dish in every italian place – You couldn’t imagine how many ways You can serve this one) and linguine with rose sauce on white wine, salmon, capers.

Both places are serving fresh home-made pastas and I ensure You- You WILL feel the difference between pasta fresca and secca and having the choice You will always ask for the first one. See You soon in Amalfi or Il Caminetto.

Amalfi Ristorante
ul. Więzienna 21
50-180 Wrocław
tel:0 71 343 67 84
www.amalfi.pl

Il Caminetto
Ul. Zwycięzców 46
03-937 Warszawa
tel: 0 22 672 55 96
www.ilcaminetto.pl