Skip the Pizza (Believe It or Not) and Try These New Creative Bottega Pastas Instead
Famous as Bottega is for its pizza, the restaurant’s range of pastas, Italian appetizers and tastebud-tingling desserts are quickly beginning to rival its beloved, award-winning pies. This is especially true of the Xianyuanli location which – unlike the late evening ambiance of their Sanlitun branch, ideal for cocktails and pizza – instead sports more of a breezy brunch or lunch vibe that makes you want to order course after course. This tendency was evident in earlier iterations of the Xinyuanli store’s menu, and it’s even more apparent in Bottega’s new autumn menu, which we were invited to a sneak preview of last week, and which is available now.
We were struck too by the audacious nature of these new offerings, which ranged from fairly light, seafood-led dishes, to hearty plates abounding with rich, high-end ingredients, the common factor being their eschewing of familiar names in favor of items that most Beijingers have yet to try. Case in point: the Burrata` su purea di melanzane (RMB 108), a weighty appetizer to kick off our meal thanks in no small to the white, puffy, bulbous burrata (an Italian cheese made with cream and mozzarella) sitting atop roasted eggplant puree, and a balsamic reduction. Diving into the thick and silky orb, the burrata oozes onto the savory eggplant below, making for a combination unlike most other appetizers we’ve ever tried, and which too many restaurants seem to chuck in as an afterthought.
Other highlights included a medley of seafood pastas that went from light to filling. First up: the fettuccine pesto e vongole (RMB 98), its emerald-green fettuccine noodles offering a fairly carb-y without the bloat base, rounded out with clams, sugar peas, fresh pesto, lemon, and basil; all well suited for the waning days of summer. Ditto for the gnocchi ai frutti di mare (RMB 118), its bitsy little gnocchi dough clumps making for a comforting and chewy accompaniment to Livornese fish stock with clams, broccolini, red and white beans, put over the top by indulgent flecks of black truffle. The Linguine all’ Astice (RMB 298), meanwhile, might have been the most photo-worthy dish among the seafood pastas we tried, thanks in no small part to the Boston lobster sitting theatrically in its center. But unfortunately, in taste it paled in comparison, its noodles simple and satisfying, but unexceptional, while the lobster was firm and juicy enough but not nearly as memorable or flavorful as the fettuccine or gnocchi dishes.
We were more impressed by the ravioli ai porcini e tartufo (RMB 158, pictured at top), an indulgent offering of sage butter-stuffed dumplings served with porcini, tantilizing pecorino cheese, and elegant black truffle. However, our drop-dead favorite of the bunch was the more conventional tortelli ai tre pomodori (RMB 108) which may have lacked the creativity of the elaborate ravioli and seafood pastas, but made up for it in spades thanks to its tortelli stuffed with a sunny and rustic combination of tomato, smoked provola cheese, and ricotta, that will send your saliva glands into overdrive.
Though pasta is unlikely to replace Bottega’s pizzas in terms of fame or glory, these dishes challenge them enough to tip the scales and demonstrate that Bottega is a long way from resting on its doughy laurels. Let's just say that if we only went for the pastas, we wouldn't necessarily miss the pizzas, which says a lot about this increasingly adventurous pizzeria.
More stories by this author here.
Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
Twitter: @MulKyle
Instagram: mullin.kyle
Photos courtesy of Bottega
