If there’s one word to describe La Nonna is flavourful, actually there’s another one, satisfying. Deciding on a restaurant at Condesa is no easy task, but one of our real estate agents recommended this Italian Place and we decided to give it a try.
Located just around Parque Mexico, the décor seemed simple but the place was beaming, we decided to sit on the terrace to avoid the crowds and enjoy our meal. Note for the wise, if you’re playing safe through Covid, this might not be the best location, we were surrounded by vendors, 3 different music groups, and a vociferating dude that claimed to be doing “Street Theater”(maskless).
Ok, now for the food, I’m not an exciting person when it comes to my Italian choices, whether Paris, Hong Kong or Mexico City my picks are a personal fixture: beef carpaccio, risotto and perhaps tiramisu. Thank God for my other diners that tend to be a bit more adventurous and help me discover some new treats, oh and they were treats alright! The eggplant with shrimp was delicious, garlicky, fresh and yet incredibly rich, portions were generous and the presentation was so very pretty to the eye. My carpaccio was fabulous, a bit on the acidic side but I’m guessing that has to do with the Mexican taste. We were all incredibly excited and keen to try our seconds…
Two Osobuccos, one Ravioli alla Burrata and one Risotto ai Fungi later the overall consensus was that the starters were the winners of the night. This doesn’t discredit our entrees but that eggplant could satisfy the most rigorous judges (aka my mother). The Osobuccos were huge, rich and perfect for any carnivore out there. The raviolis (6 big pieces) seemed a bit simple at the start but they carried a lot of complexity on the taste buds. The risotto was ok, I felt either they were not using arborio rice or it was a bit undercooked, the funghi on the plate wasn’t very exciting, I was perhaps missing a bit of truffle oil and perhaps a glimpse of more exciting mushrooms, (chanterelles anyone?) but everyone else that tried it said it was delicious. I guess it has to do with always ordering the same thing, you become a savant on the matter… Portions were so good that we skipped dessert, but I promise next time I’ll strategise better and review the tiramisu and perhaps the panna cotta.
Overall experience was perfect for a weekend dinner. We did have a bit of a misunderstanding with the price of the wine, we ordered one bottle that was out of stock and the maître’s recommendation was 3x the price… Apparently, this is somehow common on Mexican restaurants so we will be more careful next time, live and learn they say.
Authenticity: 90% (with a nod to the Mexican taste)
Ambience: 90%
Service: 75% (the wine story was a bit weird)
Taste: YUM!
Day to go: Weekends
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