442. Tropea.

 

  I last dined at Tropea in the well-heeled suburb of Harborne back in July 2022 - much longer ago than I had realised. A lot has changed since then. The restaurant has been extended into the next shop and a smart bar added in the extension and the decor of the dining area itself upgraded considerably with apt prints on the walls and comfortable furnishing. The seating is a little close together but tolerable and the overall effect is to make Tropea a very pleasant place in which to pass a couple of hours. The service is friendly and welcoming and completely on the ball. A fine start.

  The menu offers small plates which can be halved and paired with another half plate but courses are still delivered in appropriate order - starting with an aperitivo and then moving on to antipasti, primi as pasta, secondi as meat and fish with contorni and/or insalata and finally dolce. Pleasingly and wisely the menu is written with English subheadings rather than Italian expressions.

  I very much enjoyed the delicious Paper Plane cocktail, served with a paper plane, which I had had on my previous visit. This was exquisite with just the right amount of appetite-invoking bitterness that one might want and this little drink has suddenly come up on the inside track to become my favourite cocktail of the present. I naturally brought my paper plane home with me as a souvenir! 

 But to the food. My lunch companion and I shared two small plates - a fine, crispy-coated arancino with textured rice and stuffed with sweet butternut squash and sage and blanketed in Provolene. This rich little dish was nicely paired with the sweet pickled vegetables that made up the giadiniera which provided a nice crunch and balanced the rich arancino. My only regret was that we had only ordered one arancino - I should have liked a whole one to myself.

  Then two half-dishes each of very, very fine pastas. The pastas were irreproachable. We chose tagliolini with an exquisite Parmesan cream and glorious black autumn Staffordshire truffle and hand rolled gnocchi with Gorgonzola dolce, confit sweet red onion and the mild crunch of walnut. These dishes were permeated with the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness and were an absolute triumph.

  And on the subject of triumphs, the secondo of tender braised pork cheek in sofrito and orange, served with valiant potato rosti and lovely Savoy cabbage accurately cooked in wine, was another of those triumphs and when paired with a truly fabulous aubergine Parmigiana, surely a definitive version of that dish, a triumph of Trafalgar proportions was indeed served to us.

  Two happy desserts were chosen - a pleasing acceptably wobbly if not fully set vanilla panna cotta was chosen and enjoyed by myself, served as it was with a spiced plum compote and the loveliest toasted almonds I can ever remember being served  and my companion opted for the cannoli filled with sweet ricotta and salted caramel and chocolate and had nothing about which she felt the need to complain.

   Tropea has risen to the heights which fully justify its inclusion in the Michelin Guide. Thi was an exceptionally enjoyable meal.

Rating:- 🌞.