Food review: Ristorante Soave

When a sibling restaurant opens, it's hard not to compare it with the original, as different as they may be.

In the case of Soave, an Italian restaurant in Žižkov run by the same people as Aureole - a stellar Asian fusion lounge atop Prague's tallest building in Pankrác (reviewed in The Prague Post Feb. 23, 2011) - there are glimmers of equal talent in some dishes, but others need a bit more polishing to be memorable. But Soave does, however, hold its own for interesting meals with a quality of presentation that is above its price range, all in a chic cellar space that feels straight out of SoHo.

Dining at Soave is also a more upscale - and yet refreshingly laid-back - affair than its prices imply. Pastas and risottos are all comfortably under 200 Kč, with meat and fish items between 250 and just over 400 Kč. Its freshly baked bread, which features in several incarnations across the menu, is brought free of charge to start and happily refilled, along with a decanter of extra-virgin olive oil that the servers mix tableside with rocks of sea salt and balsamic vinegar for dipping.

On recent visits, both a Friday night and a weekday evening, the service was incredibly proficient and friendly, but almost too much so: Having water glasses refilled after every sip became slightly infuriating, if well-intended. But there were little touches, like coats being taken and hung up by the door, and, when the restaurant was completely empty save for our table, even an impromptu (free) molecular dessert show, wherein the chef pulled up a rolling table and concocted delicious strawberry sorbet from syrup and liquid nitrogen, accompanied by mango "spaghetti," which melted on the tongue. Served in a martini glass, it was an elegant surprise, albeit a chilling spoonful before heading out into the cold.  

Light hues make the gallery-esque rooms feel brighter than most subterranean restaurants, with tan, exposed brick on the walls, sand-toned tables and modern art in similar tones. It's modern and streamlined while still comfortable, the tables well-spaced and divided into several rooms for a more intimate feel.

The comfort level extends to the dishes, which, apart from the pasta dishes sampled, were mostly very good. Two of the starters sampled made a good first impression, particularly the homemade ravioli stuffed with seafood: three plump, airy pockets that yielded a creamy filling that was heavenly, if a bit ambiguous, with just the right hint of anchovy. Sun-dried tomatoes brought the dish more down to earth, and a spinach-infused sauce was equally light. It was enjoyable, and could have held its own as an entrée in a bigger portion.

Likewise, the pork tonnato starter was promising, with cold slices of a pink-centered loin with a peppery crust and rich tuna sauce drizzled over top, with fresh rucola and wedges of homemade focaccia. Replacing the traditional veal, the pork worked well with the creamy sauce, and the bread was spongy and nice.

The starter of beef carpaccio didn't fare as well. It made little impression, and the truffle mayonnaise that came dolloped on top was too garlicky, overwhelming any subtlety in either the truffles or the delicate meat. It was disappointingly average in comparison with the other starters.

Several pasta dishes followed this unfortunate trend. Expectations were perhaps too high, but the pasta underwhelmed despite being very prettily presented in boat-shaped bowls with sprigs of fresh herbs and freshly ground pepper. The rigatoncini with chorizo, zucchini and fresh tomatoes proved a tedious mouthful, the sausage cut into hard, chewy chunks, the zucchini too crunchy, and the tomatoes adding little zest.

The pasta itself was quite nicely al-dente and flavorful, but suffered from a lack of adequate accessories, or mismatched ones - as was the case in the spaghetti with garlic, chili, calamari and shrimp. The garlic was omnipresent, and while the seafood was fresh and flavorful, the dish as whole lacked something to make it work, feeling more like the sum of its parts than a successful creation.

A bowl of mussels, however, hit the spot. The mollusks were steaming and fresh, lacking any hint of brininess, and the champagne-colored sauce - white wine, carrots, tomato concassé and a tad of garlic - shimmered with caramelized shallots, giving it almost a flavor of French onion soup. Indeed, the sauce was good enough to slurp up with a spoon. With it came two squares of olive focaccia, which tasted slightly burnt.

The most expensive item on the menu, at 415 Kč, the wild boar tenderloin, could serve as both entrée and dessert. The meat, which was already gamey and quite sweet, had been paired with pumpkin dumplings, caramelized chestnuts, plums and a port-wine sauce. The result was interesting but overwhelmingly sweet; again, the individual components were quality but together were, in this case, too much as opposed to too little. The meat was very tasty, but one slice of it was a bit tough and required some sawing.

Dessert, however, rounded out the meal with talent, in the form of a pineapple ravioli stuffed with coconut cream. Fluffy and light, the coconut and the paper-thin fruit managed to be a refreshing, not to mention pretty, finale.

Soave has some remarkable dishes, and for the price range, it's a decent bet with a stylish environment to boot.

Fiona Gaze can be reached at
fgaze@praguepost.com