The venue pays homage to new chef Matteo Tine’s Sicilian roots.
The team behind Fitzroy trattoria Alta have reopened the space as Cantina Moro, homing in on the food of Sicily and Italy’s south – a pivot from its predecessor’s focus on the northern Italian region of Piedmont.
The jump from north to south makes sense when you consider new chef Matteo Tine’s Sicilian roots. As at Alta, handmade pasta reigns – from fusilli to potato and ricotta ravioli – but the headline dish builds on what Tine’s nonna would cook on Sundays: a slow-simmered ragu of pork sausage, jowl and ribs with angular shreds of pasta made from just flour and water.
Inspired by another of her beloved dishes, Tine is stuffing chicken with a herby, zesty rice mix and roasting it until golden-skinned. It’s served in an “unctuous” gravy that includes whey from stracchino cheese he’s making in-house. In fact, most of the day’s antipasti selection will be house-made, from even-fattier-than-usual mortadella to smoky bluefin tuna pastrami.
The wine list has also undergone a full swing to the south, with bottles often more affordable than their Piedmontese counterparts. There’s also a focus on Sicilian amaro, and a martini with natural orange vermouth.
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