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TRAVELLER
Pasqualino’s
NEWCASTLE
Just as good wine enhances the flavour
of a meal, so beloved institutions like
Newcastle’s Theatre Royal deserve
the pairing of a fine restaurant. After
the late 2011 opening of Pasqualino’s
it finally gets one, so the city’s
theatregoing public should be mollified,
if not fed into contented silence.
Opened by three of the De Giorgi
family, whose fingerprints can be seen
on many of the major menus around
town, the restaurant serves up rich,
filling Italian fare. Like the diner-style
décor, the menu is unpretentious, with
rustic cooking and not a pizza in sight.
Comforting, wholesome flavours
combine delightfully here – there’s
no garnish on the plate that doesn’t
enhance. To start, salt-cod croquettes
with cannellini beans and potted
rabbit served with buttery toast were
instant favourites, while a duck-leg
Vinivore II
NICE
The original branch of Vinivore made
its 29-year-old Canadian owner,
Bonaventure Blankstein, an overnight
sensation. Patrons of the wine bar-cum-
store could pull one of the 500 bottles
directly off the shelf, uncork it at a
communal table and imbibe.
At this second Vinivore outlet, which
opened behind Nice’s port a few months
ago, guests can sip their way through
Bonaventure’s wine cellar while nibbling
the Franco-Asian creations of one of the
region’s brightest young chefs.
Formerly of the Michelin two-star
restaurant La Palme d’Or in Cannes,
Hong Kong-born Chun Wong mans
a gas-burning wok of industrial
proportions. Bar-side diners can see
him skilfully flash-fry and steam
seasonal Provençal flavours, including
mullet, truffles and ceps. Delicious
dishes such as
filet de perche
(perch
main course, skin gleaming with
caramelisation and paired with the
house’s thrice-cooked goose-fat chips,
is likely to bring on ecstatic reverie. In
contrast, the cast list of light desserts,
particularly a “delicate” mousse, with
crunchy honeycomb and whole, plump
blackberries, provides gentle delights.
fillet) and
caillette andouillette
(a ritzy
French sausage) are streamed onto a
great value €15 lunchtime menu or the
pricier evening chalkboard.
Fans of Bonaventure’s original
Vinivore will be pleased to know that
bottles of wine can still be pulled
straight off the shelves. A chalkboard
details the provenance, aroma and price
of 100 other vintages. The restaurant-
cave
is also one of the only places in the
world to sell wines from Bellet, France’s
second smallest AOC
appellation
.
10 Rue Lascaris,
tel: +33 (0)4 9314 6809.
Tristan Rutherford
As a pre-theatre menu, this filling
fare throws down a drowsy challenge,
but for good-value, hearty repast, it’s a
midwinter night’s dream.
Two course pre-theatre menu, £14.50.
Theatre Royal, Grey Street, tel: +44
(0)191 244 2513, theatreroyal.co.uk
SarahWarwick
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