Abbiocco

In Spanish, you say that something is ‘de cine’ when you think it’s really good, and in the case of Abbiocco this is doubly true.

Abbiocco is located in what used to be the Cine Capitol in Calle Ribera.

The cinema building is intact, everything except the seats and screen in fact; even the box office greets you when you go inside.

There are three floors. In the basement you’ll find the toilets. Now I’m not one to rave about toilets; in fact it sounds a little bit weird; but these are special, with old cinema posters, lighted mirrors for the stars and wash basins from another epoch.

The food is Italian with new cuisine touches if you choose the restaurant on the ground floor.

On the first floor there is a free buffet, or whatever you call it in English, that is clearly very popular and was packed.

Also on the ground floor is a café serving some of the most luxurious looking cakes this side of Hollywood.

At the rear of the ground floor is the restaurant proper, where Italian speaking waitresses take you back to the days when a pistol could still be hidden in the cistern.

The menu, at 13.90€ midweek or 18.90e weekends, holidays and Thursday and Friday night is elaborate and encourages sharing as the dishes are clearly prepared with a lot of care and are generally speaking, delicious.

I went for the cannelloni stuffed with duck, caramelised apple and black truffles, followed by seafood risotto with red tuna, but I was frequently caught launching attacks upon the dishes of my fellow diners, such as grilled salmon with cheese and asparagus or free range chicken salad with mushrooms and almond dressing.

Check out the menu for yourself on the website:

http://www.abbioccoristorante.com

where you can also find the wine list, including some Italian wines.

The desserts were also inventive, with delights such as flaky apple tart with Tahitian vanilla ice cream, or pineapple with Sicilian lemon ice cream and ginger.

There is so much detail to look at, so much effort that has been put into every nook and cranny, that I don’t think I can capture it in an article.

Fortunately, I’m not being paid to write it so I suggest you go along yourself. Even more fortunately I didn’t have to pay for the meal either, so it really was a day ‘de cine.’

Thanks John.