VITTORIO’S | FOOD REVIEW
113 Stow Hill, Newport. 01633 840261 / www.vittoriosrestaurant.co.uk
Tucked away up at the top of Stow Hill, near St. Woolos Cathedral in Newport, is a little pearl of an Italian restaurant. The street as a whole used to be something of a hidden corner of Newport, being next door to the excellent Russian restaurant Swan Lake as well as old-school boozer The Six Bells. Sadly, the latter two establishments have since closed, but Vittorio’s, now a 30-year-old establishment, remains steadfast and present.
Décor-wise it’s nice and homely – the cold winter night we visited made the warmth of indoors all the more pleasurable (is there anything more comforting that walking in from the freezing cold into somewhere that’s just… nice), although nothing here is extravagant or tryhard, which is perfectly fine for me.
There aren’t many surprises here food-wise. The menu is as you would expect in an Italian restaurant: the usual mix of pastas, pizzas, and high-quality steaks and seafood, alongside a fine wine collection. Our party opted for an excellent bottle of prosecco, and its sharp fruitiness combined well with the pasta dishes we all ordered.
The prices are generally reasonable, and what you might expect for a bit of extra quality – generally between £12-£15 for pastas and the same for pizzas. Whilst one of our party’s pizza choice, the spicy diavola, was just too lingeringly overpowering with the heat, the rest of our selections were superb. My sausage arrabiata was rich and well-balanced, with a lovely tomatoey flavour, whilst the seafood linguine my partner chose was creamy and light. It’s not pretentious. It’s not luxurious. But it’s very good, and honestly, why the hell would you want the fancy stuff in any case?
Words: Fedor Tot