Reviews

Piattino - Bath Food Review

Posted on: 2017-04-03

From the founders of the amazing Ponte Vecchio restaurant in Bath comes Piattino, at the top of bustling Milsom Street. Piattino means “small plates” in Italian so the focus here is on tapas-style Italian dishes with live music and top quality wines. It has only been open since the end of February, so we went to review the new kind of culinary experience that they offer.

Even though it was a Friday night I was surprised to see that such a new restaurant was so full of happy customers and such a buzzing atmosphere. There are LP records stuck to the walls, along with a life-size guitar lamp. Music is an intrinsic part of this place and there is nowhere else that offers live music alongside Italian “tapas” and wines from all over the world. The three owners of Piattino, all Italian, wanted to make it feel like you were coming into their home, and they have certainly achieved this.

The owners are hands-on with their restaurants and so it’s nice to see them in person when they are serving in Piattino or Ponte Vecchio. Co-owner Dani Quaglietta and his staff treat their customers like dear friends, getting to know them and having a good old chat; we experienced this first hand. The menu is extensive so it was nice to have someone explain it all and break it down. Because the meals are small plates, the whole idea is you can pick lots of different plates and get to try different things.

To whet our appetites we thought we’d order a sharing board, with three of their best cheeses and charcuterie, served with Mediterranean roasted vegetables (£14.60). When it arrived we were given a brief description of each product and which country it was sourced from. Although to the eyes it didn’t look like a big enough sharing board for two people, it was enough as a starter course and the range of flavours from tangy to spicy made for a wonderful experience. As first impressions go, this was the best and so we knew the rest of the food would be up to this high standard.

There are lots of small plates to choose from, ranging from vegetarian, fish, meat and pasta. The staff were very happy to give recommendations, so we eventually decided to start with the special, which was beautifully creamy buffalo mozzarella with pistachio mousse. Sounds unusual right? We thought so too but we practically licked the plate clean it was so delicious. The huge slab of cold fresh mozzarella was filling and went so well with the subtle flavour of the pistachio.

Next we tried the calamari which was served with chunks of white fish and droplets of an ink-coloured sauce that gave a salty edge to the dish. We chose a type of pasta called Tonnarelli because it is tossed in goats cheese, a pepper sauce and walnuts. It was interesting to have the subtle goats cheese paired with the tomato-like sauce but it worked well and tasted indulgent. Gnocchi is an Italian staple and is made from making potatoes into little dumplings. Piattino offer a homemade gnocchi dish with crispy pancetta ham, cream, rockets and a delectable olive pesto that made the dish unique. The flavours were so fabulous we would have happily eaten a big bowl of the gnocchi if we could.

The good thing about eating small plates of food is that you feel you have more room for dessert compared to eating one big heavy meal, so we opted for the dark chocolate and almond cake as well as three mini tarts to share. The dark chocolate and almond cake was served with ice cream, is gluten and dairy free, and wasn’t too sickly. It was fruity and nutty, rather than sweet and too chocolatey. The three mini tarts consisted of one with pistachio, one with passion fruit and one with white chocolate cream. Our favourite by far was the passion fruit because it had a very strong flavour, but the other two were also great.

The prices are reasonable, maybe slightly on the steep side for some but it’s because the ingredients are all sourced either from Italy or from local producers, and food is made fresh to order including the pasta and pizzas. Prices range from £4.25 to £9.50 per small plate depending on which ones you go for, so it’s more than worth it for the flavours and presentation. Plus, depending on which day you go there’ll even be a live band in the restaurant strumming out some beats while you eat!

Ratings: 

Atmosphere 5/5

Service 5/5

Food 5/5

Value 5/5

Address: 7 Edgar Buildings, George Street, Bath BA1 2EE. Check out Piattino's website here and find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Article by:

Safia Yallaoui - Editor

Born in Bath, Safia has lived on the outskirts of the city her whole life. After studying journalism in Bristol she now spends a lot of her time searching for new things to see in Bath and soaking up the beautiful culture. You're most likely to find her sipping a soya latte in a lovely little independent cafe! Call Safia on 07468 516375 or email editor@365Bath.com.