Stu Deeley at Laghi's
STU’S ITALIAN
The news that Stu Deeley has been brought in as executive chef of Laghi’s can only be good news for Brum-based Italophiles. A city the size of Birmingham shouldn’t only have one Italian restaurant of note and with Tropea out in Harborne, being in Five Ways it potentially brings one to the borders of the city centre.
Whilst he actually remains at Hampton Manor’s Smoke, it’s his former sous chef heading up the kitchen here. The website promises ‘a new focus on flavour-driven small plates… showcasing seasonal ingredients’. It’s the sort of menu that could belong at Tropea, featuring a who’s who of Italian ingredients alla moda and just three pasta options. The signs are very promising.
Laghi’s dining room
There’s a notable buzz of anticipation from the already full room at 7pm, although I’m immediately reminded the seats must be amongst the city’s most uncomfortable, but it’s great to see there’s no elongated pepper mill in sight. Another positive sign.
Dinosaur Food
Aperitif specials come courtesy of Custard Factory nouveau legends, Passing Fancies—recently voted 3rd best cocktail bar in the UK—so I kick off with Dinosaur Food; it’s listed as rhubarb, rum and palo santo and wow! I could easily fall head over heels with it… oh hang on, I have.
Pig’s head fritters, basil aioli
The first of our dishes to land are the breadcrumb-coated succulence of pig’s head fritters with dipping aioli and it’s the perfect palate-pleaser to kick things off.
And then, the first of our two bottles of Emil Bauer Riesling arrives and damn fine it is too. With wines now supplied by Birmingham-based Wine Freedom, it’s an impressively curated list of natural, organic, and bio-dynamic wines.
Courgette and feta fritters, lemon
More fritters offering succulence under crunch; this time it’s sweetness from grated courgette balanced by the savoury tang of feta and we’re already calling for a second bottle of Riesling. It’s also time to bring on board a red.
Fritto misto – Plaice, squid, king prawns, aioli
The fritto misto—lightly battered plaice, prawns and calamari—arrives with caperberries and more aioli and whilst there are just a few boxes to tick, they’re all very well ticked.
Our red is a stunner—UnicoZelo Truffle Hound—an Australian blend of Barbera and Nebbiolo; dark fruit upfront then the spice and smokiness you’d expect from those Italian stallions. It’s so good we immediately order another.
Meanwhile, three blocks of Jenga-on-steroids fried polenta leave far too much work for a dusting of Pecorino. Their sole purpose seems to be as carbohydrate ballast for the wild garlic aioli, but with our palates already bombarded with aioli, pleasures here are extremely limited.
Barbecued queenie scallops, Esplette sauce, pine nuts
The next dish brings three queenie scallops off the barbecue, on a voluptuous and vibrant espelette sauce. The focaccia has just arrived too, but the sauce is way too over-seasoned, leaving the mopping potential redundant and it’s largely untouched.
‘Focaccia’
But, that potential pleasure was denied anyway as the mushroom-beige focaccia is, without doubt, the worst stodge I’ve put in my mouth in recent memory. It’s a crime against bread, never mind focaccia and is sent back with two refusing to try it on looks alone.
Burrata, grilled beets, pangrattato
Thankfully, we’re soon back on track with creamy burrata, accompanied by a deliciously sweet and earthy soup of grilled beets, topped with the crunch of fried breadcrumbs. Despite being burrata weary—alas, before summer has even arrived—this is probably my favourite dish so far... but damn you, shit focaccia for ending the pleasure too soon.
Rocket, balsamic, 72 month Parmigiano Reggiano
A voluminous bowl of balsamic-dressed rocket comes under a light grating of 72-month-old Parmigiano Reggiano, but its nuanced pleasures are too easily lost. It also contains a centimetre of clear plastic, from the lip of a food container—not that we’re bothered really—and they bring another one, as well as taking it off the bill.
And then the pasta, with ½ portions at £12-£13.50… up more than 25% in the three weeks since opening. In that time, they’ve also been lauded by the Daily Mail’s food critic, Tom Parker-Bowles with particular praise for the pasta, claiming “it’s as good as you’ll find at the likes of The River Cafe, Riva, Luca and Locanda Locatelli”.
‘nduja campanelli
It’s hyperbole at best and frankly, the ‘nduja campanelli is no more than an easy midweek meal; I’d hazard a guess it’s just the chilli-loaded, fatty pork sausage softened under heat before adding some cream and topping with fried breadcrumbs.
rigatoni cacio e pepe
Whilst the rigatoni cacio e pepe is a perfect execution of the dish, it’s a fairly basic Italian cooking technique, as is cooking the pasta perfectly al dente, so there’s really no fanfare required. I’d also wager the pasta is not made fresh, in-house.
Onglet, bone marrow salsa verde
The onglet with salsa verde splits the table. I’m OK with it, cooked just right and the accompanying salsa verde gets a real sweet and fatty lift from bone marrow… across the table—a cook-on-fire master—the verdict is “no seasoning; no taste; no caramelisation”.
Tirami-Stu
The tirami-Stu (did you see what they did there?) is perfect for me and probably the best in the city with plenty of coffee and booze; it’s a proper pick me up as it should be.
Panettone bread and butter pudding, milk gelato
But even that plays runner-up to the panettone bread and butter pudding with a caramelised crunch, yielding fruit loaded bread and its joys are spot-lit by the gorgeously subtle milk gelato.
We were told at the start that if we felt plates were coming too quickly to let them know, but 3½ hours later, we’ve just finished our puds and the coffee machine is already turned off for the night… so just a Montenegro for me and the bill which comes in at £470.25 inc. tip (Food £183.50 / Booze £234.50 / Service Charge £52.25).
Before eating anything of note, the two major signifiers for me of what’s to come in any restaurant are the bread and the wine list. Here, that’s proved to be a fair assessment of the food. At its best, dishes are as good as at Tropea, but its inconsistencies too often reminded me of the final throes of Jamie’s Italian. And then, there’s that ‘focaccia’.
WORTH A TRY 7/10
22-24 Islington Row Middleway, Five Ways, B15 1LD
