Always a delight for its unpretentiousness and the simple good food it offers at reasonable prices (for the high quality), this Italian restaurant and deli is very near the Nassau Street entrance to Trinity College, and the first of what has since become a small family chain of husband-and-wife team Eileen Dunne and Stefano Crescenzi's Dublin restaurants.
It's the perfect place to shop for genuine Italian ingredients - risotto rice, pasta, oils, vinegars, olives, cooked meats, cheeses, wines and much more - and yet there is commendable emphasis on sourcing the best of local ingredients for their beautiful fresh-tasting meals.
A great example of how less can be more...how good to sit down with a glass of wine (house wine is reasonably priced, and bottles on sale can be opened for a small corkage charge) and, maybe, a plate of antipasti - with wafer-thin Parma ham, perhaps, several salamis, peppers preserved in olive oil, olives and a slice of toasted ciabatta drizzled with extra virgin olive oil...There are even some little tables on the pavement, if you're lucky enough to get them on a sunny day.
Indoors or out, expect to queue: this place has a loyal following.
