Went there last night for the first time. What a superb evening! I expected the owner to be an authentic Italian lady, but in fact she had the broadest of broad Barnsley accents. It's a tiny place, unlicensed so bring your own booze, and they only take cash. We sat next to the kitchen so we could watch the food being prepared and cooked, and it was absolutely superb. 4 courses, no choice, you just get what you're given. The owner was one of the most entertaining ladies I've ever met. In her early seventies, she told joke after joke in her broad accent, mostly about her lovely spicy bits. Her other staff joined in, and a young lady waitress on her first night didn't know what on earth was going on. As our wine went down we joined in with the jokes and had a great evening, where the food was almost incidental. Highly recommended for a very different experience, a credit to our town.
It’s definitely tucked away, there’s a little ginnel just off the bottom of Dodworth Rd, (at the side of Anderson funeral directors, once you’re thru the ginnel you’ll see a metal staircase, it’s beneath that,
...and then you tap on the right combination of bricks and the wall folds in on itself to allow access. It's right next to the wand shop.
Current owners have only had it for a few months. Previous owners had a real Italian cook (from Rome) who made delicious, rustic meals in large portions. Lovely lady and as mad as a bike. She left a while ago though.
A group of us went a couple of years ago, thanks to my mate Darrell (Spartacus to you), and can agree that it was fab. Food was lovely, and plenty of it. Me and Darrell once went to a similar place a few years ago in Garda, on Lake Garda, funnily enough. The place had sittings and you had to say whether you wanted meat or fish and then you just ate whatever they kept bringing out. Most of us had fish, being that we were on a lake, but Darrell’s missus had meat, most of which we could identify. Still not sure what some of it was. The fish was…interesting. We ate things we’ve never eaten before and would never eat again, but were certainly glad we experienced it. Don’t get me wrong, the food was great, but I’ll almost definitely never eat a raw prawn again or a snail the size of a golf ball. I’ve eaten snails plenty of times, usually small ones, cooked in a garlic butter, but these monsters were gooey and extremely chewy! Not very pleasant, but we were determined not to be beat and scoffed it. It certainly was an experience. If you’re ever down the bottom end of Lake Garda you should try it. Book in advance though, as it’s very popular. Ladies even get given a bottle of wine with the owner’s face on!
I talk to the lady in question regularly whilst walking our dogs in Wilthorpe Park, she's a great character and works incredibly hard to give people a good food experience
We went about 3 weeks ago and had the same table as you describe. Fantastic evening and you’re right, the owner is as mad as a box of frogs but terrific company. Only problem is you have to book about 6 months in advance. Well worth the trip out for £30 a head, you definitely won’t be going home hungry. Ps, they do take card payments.
Yep, excellent place. They moved units to a bigger one a few months ago. Excellent value, lovely atmosphere.
We holiday in Garda every year, please can you post the name of this place? It sounds like it needs to go on our list!