Shropshire Life Magazine
24th November 2009
Dining is one of life’s civilised - and civilising - pleasures. And if you are visiting a newly opened restaurant there’s an added frisson. It’s a little like a first date - a leap of faith that develops into a rewarding relationship, fizzles disappointingly into nothing or ends abruptly with a frosty goodnight and a slam of the exit door.
Romolo is the new kid on the block and, after one liaison, I feel like proposing marriage. You might say it was love at first bite.
Shrewsbury’s new Italian restaurant and lounge bar is a wonderful addition to the cultural and entertainment life of the town.
The brainchild of Albright Hussey Hotel owner, Franco Subbiani, Romolo is in a prime location next to the River Severn on Victoria Quay.
It makes full use of its pleasant views with floor-to-ceiling windows. These also, of course, flood the restaurant with natural light, which also bounces off mirrored panels on the bar. Such a lot of glass to polish - and it fair sparkled on the evening we visited. There was also plenty of stylish wood and lighting, giving the place a bright, modern look.
The upstairs lounge bar is plush and sophisticated and will host live music, comedy nights, DJs and cocktail evenings.
The restaurant takes its name from the son of head chef and partner in the business Claudio Murru and also, rather divergently, from Romulus who, according to mythology founded Rome with his twin brother Remus.
More than 150 invited guests were at a launch party for the restaurant on October 3, which should help to put the word out. Romolo officially opened on October 6 and my wife Vanessa and I visited eight days later. There were around a dozen other diners which can make a restaurant this roomy seem pretty empty. Still, it was a midweek, England’s footballers were being screened live on terrestrial television, Shrewsbury itself seemed pretty quiet and it’s early days for Romolo. I can imagine the place will have a real buzz about it when its full - as it deserves to be.
There may be odd signs that we are crawling out of recession but times are still hard for a great many people out there. Pubs and restaurants across the country are continuing to close and it is a courageous move to open somewhere new in such a climate. Romolo, though, can fall back on many assets - an appealing contemporary look, outstanding location and, most of all, its imaginative owners and talented staff.
General manager Adrian Bibart says: “The team here worked hard to ensure the launch was a success and will continue, now that we’re open, to meet our customers’ high expectations. Our aim is to prepare food and cocktails using the freshest ingredients served in a simple way and in a relaxed atmosphere.”
Certainly, a restaurant is ultimately judged on its food and, on first acqaintance, Romolo scores highly in this department.
There is a wide choice of mouthwatering fish, meat and vegetarian dishes, along with pastas and risottos.
Our brushchette al pomodoro appetiser was delightfully fresh garlic bread with generous helpings of tomato, red onion, black olives and a hint of basil, and provided an excellent accompaniment to pre-dinner drinks.
My lobster bisque was delicious: shavings of salty meat in a creamy soup with flamed brandy adding a kick. Vanessa’s salmon carpaccio was of a similarly high quality. The fish was cured with dill and there was a generous helping of a vodka and beetroot mix with parmesan shavings.
My sea bream main course was fresh and beautifully cooked, with plenty of tender white meat beneath the crispy-fried top.
New potatoes and roasted vegetables were a simple yet effective accompaniment while small cubes of chorizo added, as they inevitably do, a strong, spicy contrast vying for attention.
Vanessa’s pork saltimbocca was a plate full of wonderful flavours, a beautifully tender pan-fried fillet given a savoury lift by slices of Tuscan ham on top, in a rich sauce of fresh sage and marsala wine. A generous helping of new potatoes and rocket and parmesan salad made this a filling dish and when Vanessa, defeated by quantity and certainly not quality, reached her capacity I was more than happy to step into the breach and finish her meal. Delicious.
Having consumed bread, a large bowl of soup and one-and-a-half mains, I still, with all the aplomb of a seasoned glutton, had no hesitation in summoning the dessert menu.
Delicate
While Vanessa made do with a double espresso (what a lightweight!), I tucked into sticky toffee pudding. I was upbraided by my wife for visiting an Italian restaurant and not ordering tiramisu or ricotta but this was one of the most delicate, moist sticky toffee puddings I’ve eaten in a long time (and I’ve eaten a few; a true heavyweight - in every sense).
There is an extensive wine list which has clearly been painstakingly and imaginatively put together to complement the food on offer. This may seem an obvious point, but it is astonishing how some places appear to have ordered food and drink purely on bulk price, resulting in a menu and wine list that are about as compatible as Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills.
The high standards extended to service which was efficient, friendly, unfussy. Romolo is clearly intent on being family friendly, with a separate children’s menu offering grilled chicken breast, sausages, mini fish and chips and, for the more adventurous youngsters, penne alla carbonara and fettuccine al pomodoro.
A Sunday lunch menu features traditional British favourites like roast beef and leg of lamb along with Italian dishes from the main menu. There’s also a separate daytime menu, offering three courses for £13.50 and two for £10.50, including a glass of wine or soft drink, in a bid to woo shoppers and lunching office workers.
In fact, Romolo appears to have covered all bases in its attempt to become a commercial and cultural success. I hope it does well because it’s odds on that it will do so with style. And you can never have enough of that.