Originally we were not thinking about going out for dinner on Valentine's Day until a week before that we found out what would be in their Valentine's Day menu. Grilled swordfish was on the menu. I normally do not like fatty or oily fish but I do like grilled swordfish. It reminds me of Italy too as that was where I first tasted it grilled with herbs and lemon sauce. You hear about health and ecological concerns about this fish (e.g. mercury level and sustainability). But... you don't get swordfish on a menu that often and that was another thing that got me - I had to have this. So we booked a table on Valentine's Day.
We like dry, refreshing white wine, so with Sarti's recommendation, we tried Tufflolo Cortese from Piemonte in Gavi. The description on the label mentions delicate hint of lemon and perfect with fish. That sounded great. I ordered pan seared scallop for starter and grilled swordfish so it would go very well with them.
As we left it too late to book our table, out reservation was for 5pm, yet the restaurant was already busy with valentine diners. That was however fine with us as we were enjoying this refreshing wine whilst snacking Sarti's delicious focaccia.
Our first courses arrived. Mine was Capesante dell'Amore which is pan seared scallops served in the shell in white wine and garlic with wilted spinach. I am not usually a big fan of scallops however I really enjoyed this starter - I thought scallops were cooked perfectly and could tastes its lovely sweetness.
My husband had Risottino Cupido which is creamy Arborio risotto with artichoke and toasted pine nuts. He likes artichoke. I tried this risotto and liked the addition of pine nuts. The portion size was really generous too.
Very rarely I cook risotto at home and thought I have done a very good job of it till I come to Sarti, try their risotto and realise the big difference in the level of al dante or the existence of 'bite' and creaminess in their risotto rice in comparison to mine. Maybe I should cook risotto more often at home to perfect it. Practice makes perfect, you know. That also means, literally, slaving over a hot oven, keep stirring and adding ladleful of stock little by little.... this is a lot of ask for me being a lazy cook if I have to do this frequently.
I think I am quite happy to come to Sarti to have their perfect risotto instead....
We then move on to the main course - the arrival of my long anticipated Pesce Spada Dolce Amaro which is grilled swordfish with lemon sauce served with radicchio and baby potatoes. Here, radicchio was served grilled. It has a bitter and a bit spicy taste but I thought it goes very well with the grilled swordfish with lemon and herb sauce. I never tried radicchio before till that night. I have seen Giorgio Lcatelli cooked radicchio and red wine risotto on a TV cooking programme many years ago (http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/512129) and always wanted to try this vegetable. Well, maybe I shall practice making risotto using his recipe - it uses risotto rice, radicchio and red wine. It sounds rather apt to choose this recipe if I were to slave myself over a hot oven. After all, the recipe uses 250ml of red wine! It would be much enjoyable too....
My husband had Linguine Degl' Innamorati which is linguine in a white wine and garlic sauce with pan fried red mullet. Red mullet is a delicate and beautiful fish. Very generous portion of two fillets of this beautiful fish were served on top of tasty linguine.
What I liked about Sarti's Valentine menu was that they had swordfish and red mullet which you don't often see in a menu at many restaurants. You often get salmon, sea bass, monkfish or even lobster. Because we don't eat meat, sometimes selections could be limited so it was a welcome change for us.
We really enjoyed our starters and mains and moved on to desserts.
I wanted to have something refreshing so I opted for Sgroppino, pronounced 'score-pee-noe' which is a hybrid of cocktail and dessert often served after meals in Venice, made with lemon sorbet and prosecco. According to internet, the name came from a word meaning 'untie a little knot' referring to the state of one's stomach after a large meal and relaxing it. It was really refreshing.
My husband had Formaggio di Cleopatra, traditional Italian cheese platter with biscuits and honey. I forgot to ask them what kind of cheese they were, sorry.... but we did notice there was a big drop of balsamic vinegar in the honey. That was interesting. It never occurred to me to do that so we may try this at home.
After that we had coffees to finish off our wonderful meal.
As we were leaving, I also received a lovely single rose to go home with. What a lovely gesture!
Well, we have had a lovely dinner at Sarti, as always. Everyone works there is really friendly and very attentive no matter how busy they are and food is always fantastic. And we really enjoy varieties of choices we have in menus on special occasions and advice on wine selections to go with it. Eating dinner at Sarti is not just about eating food for the sake of it, it's a lovely dining experience as a whole. That's why we keep going back to Sarti. This means that I can never go on diet.... I hope I can fit myself into the dress for the wedding or squeeze myself into it with a little help of spanx if I have to....
That's all forks!
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