11:09am Thursday 14th January 2010
By Barrie Hudson
WE came to Fabio for that hardy perennial of British restaurant dining, the Office Night Out.
As it happened, so did quite a few other groups, not to mention some families, some couples and possibly an engagement party.
It’s a testament to the skill of the staff at this favourite Italian restaurant that they managed to provide everyone with just the level of attention they desired.
Nobody should ever underestimate the fine art of being aware of customers’ needs without giving them an uncomfortable sense of being hovered over.
Atmosphere is another vital aspect of a good restaurant, and Fabio delivers the goods in this respect, too. Dining there is an intimate, friendly experience, whether you’re in a large party, a couple or even enjoying a pleasant meal for one.
Our six-strong group had a front-of-house drink as we waited just a few minutes for our table to be readied on this very busy night.
There isn’t nearly enough space for a complete rundown of all the dishes we ordered, but they were all enthusiastically received.
Our chosen starters, for example, included delicious deep fried whitebait in crispy breadcrumbs with garlic mayo, Penne alla Arrabbiata (a spicy combination of pasta tubes, chilli sauce, tomato and garlic), succulent mussels in a white wine sauce, and warming, authentic Bruschetta with abundant fresh tomatoes, garlic, herbs and olive oil.
Quite apart from setting us all up nicely for our main courses, the starters demonstrated a versatility that would be impressive at the best of times, let alone on such a busy night.
The arrival of the main courses merely reinforced our admiration. A tomato risotto with seafood was rated as perfect in just about every way, as was a Pollo a la Milanese (chicken fried in breadcrumbs and served with spaghetti in tomato sauce; a Gnochetti Sardi - pasta with Italian sausage and tomato sauce - was equally delicious.
In fact, there wasn’t a single word of dissatisfaction from any of us, which is pretty rare among a large party going out for a meal.
The only worry on the horizon was the impending bill, which we looked forward to with trepidation in view of the excellence of the meal plus the amount of wine and other drinks we’d had.
So when it came back at a very reasonable £159 for the six of us, we cheerfully paid and left the restaurant as a very happy group indeed.
We’ll definitely be back.
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