Romolo, Shrewsbury

Romolo, Shrewsbury

Star rating: **** In the short time since Romolo opened, it’s already proved a hit with Shrewsbury diners. That alone, however, is not enough.

Romolo occupies a cavernous space alongside the River Severn, off Victoria Quay, and will need to become the venue of choice for diners across the region if it is to flourish.

It stands every chance of achieving just that, though it must work hard to iron out small but annoying errors that detract from what would otherwise be a sublime dining experience.

Romolo comes with a good pedigree.

It’s being run by Franco Subiani, who owns the Albright Hussey, head chef Claudio Murru, restaurant manager Oscar Santalla and general manager Adrian Bibart.

Experience, therefore, is not in short supply.

The interior has been given a major revamp and looks striking in scarlet and cream hues. The striking curves that work so well alongside the ever-flowing River Severn are stunning against the part-mirrored interior and chandeliers.

Somehow, it manages to combine glitz, glamour and a little sophistication without crossing a theoretical divide into Footballer’s Wives pastiche.

The venue makes full use of an upstairs lounge area, which diners are welcome to access via a spiral staircase before settling down to dinner. It’s also becoming a hub for live entertainment, with DJs, jazz artists, Latin American and much more booked.

But our interest was in the restaurant and we decided to go on a wet and windy Wednesday night, reasoning that we’d be testing it when the chips were down.

Dinner service starts at 6pm and we arrived about half an hour later, expecting the venue to be empty.

It wasn’t and we enjoyed the early evening hubbub generated by around 25 to 30 diners. The skilful Oscar Santalla greeted us warmly and showed us to our table.

The menu featured few fireworks, instead playing to the strengths of the kitchen and the palates of local diners.

So there were plenty of unfussy and uncomplicated dishes of Italian extraction.

Prosciutto and Melone sat alongside Etrusca salad, antipasto and other Mediterranean delights including sauteed king prawns with garlic and chilli butter.

I made a tactical choice of starter, opting for a dish from the separate pasta and risotti menu and requesting an appropriately-sized portion.

Oscar duly obliged, saying he would instruct the kitchen to scale down what would otherwise be an overly-indulgent start to our dinner. He returned with a wonderfully constructed and well-presented dish.

The risotti was packed with sweet flakes of crab and plenty of juicy crayfish, while the tomatoey rice was cooked al dente. A rich and luxuriant chilli butter dressed the dish, adding a stylish flourish and packing a flavoursome punch.

My wife decided to banish the cold by selecting the appetising carrot and coriander soup, with crusty bread. It was exceptional. We always view soup as a test of a kitchen’s ability. Every self-respecting Shropshire restaurant ought to be able to make soup that bursts with flavour and gives the diner confidence.

This viscous bowl of sweet and savoury, orange-coloured nirvana passed the test with distinction.

So to our main courses. My wife chose the sauteed scallops al Pinot Grigio.

The plump, delicate molluscs were lightly seasoned and beautifully seared. The garnish of an aromatic white wine cream sauce and accompanying lentils made it a light but satisfying dish.

I opted for the pan-fried pork fillet saltimbocca. The pork was wrapped in Tuscan ham and fresh sage and served alongside new potatoes and a rocket and parmesan salad. The saltimbocca was a treat, like a riot of savoury flavours erupting on the tongue. The accompanying marsala sauce was just as edifying but inexplicably, the new potatoes were underdone. It escapes me how a kitchen can serve unctuous soup, savoury mains and delightful seafood, without being able to boil in a pan of salted water a handful of new potatoes.

No matter.

Oscar returned to our table with the dessert menus and we had ample time to choose. My wife went for the utterly gooey chewy brown sugar meringues, which were filled with a lemon and passion fruit cream. The dish was wonderfully well presented and it soon disappeared.

I commited a heinous crime by selecting that most Italian of desserts . . . sticky toffee pudding. My sin in failing to select one with a Mediterranean influence – like the baked ricotta cheesecake, tirami su gateau or dark chocolate marquis – soon came back to haunt me. The dessert was ever-so slightly overcooked, giving it an undeniably bitter tinge.

The silky butterscotch sauce and delightful walnut and maple ice-cream couldn’t disguise it.

Romolo is a welcome addition to Shropshire’s dining scene. It is excellently located in the most vibrant part of our county town. With great service from Oscar’s team, exceptional value – our dinner, plus drinks, was a wafer under £50 – and flavour-crammed food, it’s on to a winner.

If the kitchen pays a little more attention to detail, it should have a long and successful future.

Andy Richardson

MENU SAMPLE

STARTERS

Etruscan salad (£4.95)

Crostini Toscani (£5.25)

MAIN COURSES

Paparadelle with lamb and olives (£9.95)

Fish and prawn pie alla Toscana (£9.95)

SIDES

Chef’s salad (£2.50)

DESSERTS

Dark chocolate marquis (£4.95)

ATMOSPHERE

Has the buzzy, cosmopolitan atmosphere of a hotel restaurant

SERVICE

Busy, bustling but occasionally too easily distracted

DISABLED FACILITIES

The venue doesn’t lend itself to easy access, though efforts are made

Contact

Romolo, Victoria Quay, Victoria Avenue, Shrewsbury, SY1 1HH

Tel: 01743 233244