This article is from page 33 of the 2010-02-02 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 33 JPG
A LITTLE taste of Italy is now be- ing cooked to order every night in Doolin following the opening of the La Strana Coppia Restaurant in the village.
The new restaurant, which is owned and managed by chef pair Carlo Sa- gnotti and Ornella Testa, opened last month and, despite the recession, it has been proving that there is always an appetite for good food in north Clare. They promise a mixture of simple and complex foods, all taken from their native region of Piedmon- te and their home town Turin.
“It’s the cuisine of the poor and the cuisine of the kings. Torino and Pied- monte, our native land, was the first capital of Italy in 1860 and the home of the Savoia royal family, crowned by the Alps high mountains where poor people lived. In the restaurant people will discover completely new dishes, with daring and unusual com- binations of ingredients you’ve never tasted in Ireland,’ said Carlo.
Carlo and Ornella moved to Ire- land last year and spent a number of months searching out the perfect lo- cation. Despite the difficult econom- ic conditions, they are hopeful their new venture will be a success.
“We were looking for a place in Ire- land that would suit all of our needs and our ideas and I think Doolin was always the place. After all we both love Doolin so we were happy to find a place here,” continued Carlo.
“We moved to Ireland back in June and since then we have been look- ing around, trying to find the perfect je e-Terer
“We think we have found it now. We have a very big menu, both dish-
es that people might know but also some more unusual recipes.
“We are optimistic about the res- taurant. We know that we are selling good authentic Italian food. We have imported it directly from Italy so we believe in what we are doing. So ina way it doesn’t matter if we are opti- mistic or not.
“But of course we are optimistic. We believe that it might be slow, but we think that we can have a good place in Doolin with this restaurant, because of the quality of our food. We won’t be an Italian takeaway serving just pizza and things like that. It’s all about the quality of the food.”
For more about La Strana Coppia
or to read a sample menu check out http://italianrestaurantdoolin.com or ring 087 7465982.