Food with gusto.

Italian food seems to be close to everyone's heart. Pizza, Pasta, Wine (I know it’s not a food, but it’s a staple); So, it’s no surprise that over the past months, we’ve had not one, but two new Italian restaurants pop up. Enoteca is based in St Aubin, and The Rigatoni, is set in Liberty Wharf.

A quick online search tells me, the word Enoteca translates best to “wine library”, and I don’t know about you, but when I think of a library, I think of a quiet, intimate place filled with knowledge, a place to learn, and in a wine sense, a place to try. Once you’ve seen the scale of the wine menu at Enoteca, you’ll see the name is completely fitting for this wine bar meets restaurant meets wine shop.

Rigatoni, meaning rigid in Italian, is also the name of a pasta shape. A tube shape, wider than penne, (though narrower than cannelloni), it’s rigid on the outside. This allows the sauce to be captured, and sit within the tiny grooves. Science says, this holds more sauce than a smooth pasta does and, in my mind, the perfect ratio. Enough about the perfect pasta shape and sauce-to-pasta ratio…. It’s also the name of one of St. Helier’s newest and most sunsoaked restaurants.

Enoteca

Serving fresh-daily pasta, cheese, speciality cured meats and of course, wine (specifically, natural wine), Enoteca is the newest restaurant to bless St Aubin with its presence.

Their no-fuss menu (amongst other things) includes a choice of vegetarian, seafood or meat pasta, as well as a vegan plate. It’s a menu that allows for change, and is a refreshingly get-what-you’re-given approach - they don’t need an expansive menu. With no dish over £18 it’s well priced for the great atmosphere.

“We offer a small, simple menu with the focus on typical Italian food and local produce.” enoteca

With a wine menu that’s almost as dense as a page of the dictionary, the housewhite-please kind of diner might find this overwhelming, but for the wine aficionado in your life, this place is a little slice of heaven. While dining in Enoteca, you’ll be proudly served only natural wine without any added sulphites. It’s an offering of which they’re proud. They also serve orange wines, so it’s a place to appreciate something out of the ordinary.

Unusually, enoteca has an online wine shop, as well as offering bottles in store. So now, like a good book in a library, once you’ve found the one you like, you can take it away, to be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home.

Surrey House Charing Cross St. Brelade

JE3 8AA

Thursday-Monday 11am - 10pm www.enoteca.je hello@enoteca.je

01534 888252 / 07797893894

The Rigatoni:

While Enoteca has a focus on typical Italian, The Rigatoni takes a more ‘modern day Italian’ approach, serving oysters alongside antipasti and sandwiches, and of course, plenty of cocktails, pizzas and pasta. Not many places offer oysters to start and a genuinely good pizza as a main. It’s the combination we didn't know we needed.

The Rigatoni’s central location makes for a great after-work drink or dinner - it’s just around the corner from Liberation Station, so is the perfect place to stop for a tipple before getting on the bus home.

The alfresco seating is some of the best in town. Take in the people moving around town, appreciate Liberation Square and the fountain with all its tourists, ice-cream eaters, seagulls, and bench-sitters taking a moment. Do this all while sipping on an Aperol on a hot day it’s almost as though you might be sitting in an old Italian square (until Le Petit Train comes into sight and you’re transported right back to St. Helier)

As well as enjoying a glass of wine, or enjoying a fantastic meal, you can also sit outside and take in the morning bustle with an espresso. Yes, The Rigatoni is also open for breakfast, and serves up a delicious range of Italian-style focaccias and ciabattas, pastries and coffee before moving onto more lunch-based foods. It’s the best of both worlds.

The recent fit-out has focussed on a natural palette, it’s simple and trendy and just an easy place to be. Overall, we’re happy to see another quality Italina restaurant on the Streets!

The Rigatoni Liberty Wharf Esplanade St Helier Jersey

Monday - Friday, though check their website for service times.

Conversation Starters

01534 722 271 reservations@therigatonijersey.com