We are very lucky living in Aberdeen with such a buoyant music and theatre scene all year round. From rock bands in pubs to big scale musicals there is something on most nights to keep all ages entertained.
I must admit I am a bit of a theatre buff and love watching all the big production musicals including plenty staged by some of the ubertalented amateur groups we have here in the city.
For a change I had managed to persuade my husband to join me at the musical, Sunny Day, at HM Theatre as it featured songs from one his favourite rock bands, The Kinks.
We decided to grab a quick bite on the way to the show and headed for the new Italian on the block, Mamma Pizza on Belmont Street. Nestled among a plethora of pubs, clubs and cafés on this cobbled street we almost walked past it.
On the ground floor is a takeaway that sells pizza at just £2 per slice, which might make a nice change to a lunchtime sandwich.
We headed up to the first floor to the small restaurant which had a warm fire going while glowing tea lights gave the place a cosy feel, despite the chill outside. Only one other table was occupied with a large Italian family and they chatted in their native language to the waiting staff, always a good sign in my book.
The menus are split between Mamma Starters and Salads, Mamma Pizza and Mamma Pasta with around 10 choices in each section.
We decided to share starters of suppli (a deep fried rice ball with ragu sauce and filled with melted mozzarella) and prosciutto e parmigiano. We had never tried suppli before but it was delicious, really light and oozing with the melted cheese.
The very generous portion of beautiful dry-cured Italian ham with parmesan was served on lightly toasted garlic focaccia, a proper Italian feast. I am not a massive fan of garlic so you can ask for it without which is an added bonus.
To wash it down I would have loved a glass of red wine but the restaurant doesn’t have a licence yet, however you can bring your own until they get one.
As the restaurant is called Mamma Pizza one of us had to sample a pizza so my husband went for the Diavola, a tomato base with mozzarella and spicy salami. The menu stated that the authentic pizza dough is hand crafted in their kitchen by specialised Italian pizza chefs with flour imported from Italy and is slow-risen for at least 48 hours, making the base light and delicious the way it should be.
And it truly was one of the lightest, crispiest bases we’ve ever eaten with just the right amount of toppings. We had visited Rome earlier in the year and this reminded us of the pizza there, simple, fresh and not overloaded with toppings. Belissimo!
Unfortunately my lasagne wasn’t quite up to the same standard. The portion was small and had no garnish while the thin layers of pasta had very little Bolognese sauce in between and I couldn’t detect much mozzarella cheese.
The restaurant was busy by now, including more Italian diners, so there was lots of loud happy chatter going on. Running out of time before curtains up we were offered their only dessert which was home-made Tiramisu.
Tiramisu translated in to English means “pick me up” or “cheer me up” and there is no doubt that is exactly what it did. The large layered creation of cream, sponge, coffee and mascarpone cheese hit the spot perfectly and was surprisingly light and fluffy.
And as we bid “arriverdeci” to the friendly staff we hoped to return to this wee gem of a place, might just get that glass of wine next time too.
