From the people behind Tiger Bites Pig and Tierra Taco, JQ Italian eaterie Trentina is four months in and flying. Despite the differing culinary genres, there’s a consistent theme running through all three restaurants – confidence, simplicity, singlemindedness and quality.
Interiors are basic but stylish – young, fresh, nothing fancy. The food is king and there are zero gimmicks – a handful of dishes with top notch ingredients with suppliers listed and a succinct drinks list with plenty to wet your whistle.
There are small plates and pasta dishes. We went for a couple of small plates and two pasta dishes between two which was perfect. Stacciatella aka the gooey middle bit of mozzarella served with herby oil and quartered figs was sensational. Zingy, fresh, tart, sweet – so much to love. We recommend scooping it up with warm focaccia. We also polished off a generous selection of punchy, peppery charcuterie.
Shredded pork shoulder ragu with pappardelle was rich and brimming with flavour. Then for Trentina’s social media hit, spinach, ricotta and duck egg raviolo. It was like nothing we’ve eaten before. It’s essentially one big pasta parcel filled to the brim with creamy oozing deliciousness. If you think texturally it sounds like it would be a bit soft, it is, but it doesn’t matter, it’s heavenly. Regardless of the fact it’s utterly gorgeous, there’s some chatter about it not being on the menu beyond the end of October. We assume it’s a PR stunt. If not, we’re taking to the streets.
In summary, Trentina’s everything you want from a local restaurant including being flippin’ good value – for instance the spinach, ricotta, duck egg pasta is £8.50, the pork ragu £9.50. If we lived in the Jewellery Quarter we’d be tempted to pop in for a bowl of pasta and a Monte and tonic multiple times a week…