Casual Italian

There's something about red-checkered tablecloths and flickering candlelight that warms the heart. Maybe it's an ingrained sentimentality from repeated viewings of Lady and the Tramp, or maybe it's just nice to find a restaurant that's not afraid of the right kind of kitsch.

Of course, this combination is also a fixture at pizzerias and trattorias, which is why it makes perfect sense on top of the tables at Trattoria Laura in Vinohrady. The front end of the little place is still a storefront and has a single table for trying wines or chatting with the owner, as one customer was on a recent evening. The restaurant is even open for breakfast every day except Sundays. The older shelved walls have a sizeable stock of elegant pastas, Italian liquors and wines, canned goods, jarred delicacies and two refrigerated cases with cured meats, cheeses and fresh pastas.

A sign points customers toward the back. To the left is an open kitchen, partially obscured by screens and another refrigeration case. To the right, there's a smallish room with five tables, the walls painted deep warm reds and decorated with framed Italian advertisements for food and wine.

The little plastic menus had a much bigger selection than I thought we'd find at such a small place; on top of the many platters of cheeses, meats, bruschettas and brined vegetables, there were also paninis, pastas, meat dishes and salads.

We were pleased to see straciatella on the menu, a type of Roman egg-drop soup that's simple and soothing. Typical versions usually include spinach or some other hardy green, and wispy strands of egg. This version was even simpler, tasting predominantly of chicken stock, cream and Parmesan, but good nevertheless.

It's quite common to see prosciutto and grilled vegetable antipasti starters on menus, but this one was exceptionally generous and had a good variety of preserved vegetables in olive oil that had received a light grill treatment. It was plenty for two, and had pockets of mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, peppers and artichokes wrapped up in salty sweet prosciutto. Thin, premade breadsticks were a bit awkward for an accompaniment, but at least they kept us from overdoing it with bread.

A cream and Parmesan pasta was homey and delicious. The pasta in particular - fresh, eggy fettuccine - particularly stood out and held up well against a rich but not overbearing cream sauce, dotted with sautéed ham that resembled lardons more than prosciutto.

That it didn't seem quite like prosciutto might be a blessing. The thin, cured meat can take on a ripe, gamey flavor when it's cooked. When you order it as a pizza topping, for instance, you want it to be added fresh on top of the pizza once it's out of the oven.

That same problem arose with chicken saltimbocca. The amount of thin chicken breast cutlets was quite generous and well-cooked. The prosciutto they'd been wrapped in, alas, had that slightly gamey quality, but not so much that the dish was ruined. Bizarrely, the chicken's underside was bright red, and there was a hint of sweetness. It was almost as if they'd added maraschino cherry juice but without the strong taste. More importantly, fried sage leaves were tucked in the chicken and prosciutto and were a nice touch.

Sides are ordered separately at Trattoria Laura, but aren't too expensive and provide nice choices. Grilled vegetables, three types of polenta and even saffron rice are on offer at reasonable prices. The plain polenta seemed sliced from a package, but it was clearly of good quality, and was enlivened by a couple turns in the pan.

While I couldn't quite see the cook, and I don't think you really can from any of the few vantage points in the restaurant, she was definitely cooking in the open kitchen next to us, as the smells and sounds let us know when the next dish was about to come out. It's not a loud kitchen; there was only one cook, and there was sufficient space to keep pots from clanging in our ears. All in all, the trattoria offers a rather cozy experience that really feels like eating in someone's home.

The desserts, alas, are not made in the kitchen. We were asked by the kind woman who was hostess, manager and server (perhaps Laura herself?) to pick our choices from the freezer. The creme brulee was in fact not brulee at all, and the sugar had only slightly melted into the custard. A meringue cake was so sickly sweet I had flashbacks of childhood birthday parties where the sprinkled rainbow cakes seemed to have been engineered in Candyland laboratories. Of course, desserts are an afterthought for me, as I have the misfortune, I've been told, of being born without a sweet tooth. There's nothing they can do for me, and I've resigned myself to a life where savory reigns supreme.

The tablecloths, the kitchen, the service and the food are all humble at Trattoria Laura. But what a pleasant thing, to walk into a cozy store, make your way to an even cozier back room and share wine and decent Italian comfort food with friends without the formality of huge expectations and a bill to match.

Claire Compton can be reached at
ccompton@praguepost.com