Of all the cuisines which we in Ireland enjoy but have little true idea of, it is Italian cooking which is the most compromised. Our trattorias should be renamed, and in future called, "1001 Things To Do With A Tin Of Tomatoes", for their food bears almost no relationship whatsoever to what you might enjoy in Italy.
The reason for this is simple. Italian cooking is totally centred on ingredients, and choice ingredients at that. While French cooking relies heavily on technique, Italian food is fundamentally simple, a means of allowing the food to speak its own flavour. At its best, it is a statement of simple perfection, and nothing less, because nothing gets in the way of the flavours of the best, sun-rich ingredients.
The team who run Ar Vicoletto, a new Italian restaurant on Crow Street, in Temple Bar, may not achieve that sublime perfection with their cooking, but they are worthy of our attention simply because they attempt to achieve the very best they can, and while they are doing that, they never lose track of the necessary simplicity which underlies Italian cooking. On a warm Monday evening, a friend, his 10-year-old son and another friend we met on the street who said "I'll just have a glass of wine with you" and who ended up staying for the entire meal, enjoyed a dinner which was fun, and simple, and all the better for that. It wasn't anything to make a hullabaloo about, but it was true, and intended to be enjoyable, which was just what we wanted.
Right from the start, when we were offered a little plate of bruschetta with tomato, one could see the care which is taken with the food. The tomato was properly peeled, seeded and chopped, then drizzled with oil, and the effort taken in preparing the tomato made it delicious, even if the bread was standard stuff.
We ordered another form of bruschetta - tartine burro e alici - on the strength of this. The simple little breads with anchovy and butter were splendid, and a cracking partner for the white Sicilian wine - Monte Olimpo - which the owner had enthusiastically recommended. Unfortunately, the shredded radiccio which was also on the plate had no dressing, which meant it wasn't worth bothering with.
The 10-year-old ordered a bowl of minestrone, and was rewarded with a bowl of chunky vegetable soup, somewhat heavier than a classic minestrone which is a light broth with vegetables, but it was a pleasing dish, full of flavour and well-made. Our friend, who by now had decided to have a starter to go with that glass of wine, ordered braesaola - air-dried beef - which was correctly served with curls of Parmesan and some rocket leaves, lightly dressed with oil and lemon juice, and no more, while our two pasta dishes, spaghetti with mussels, tomato and white wine and fettuccine alfredo, were both fine productions.
The pasta may have been unexceptional fare, but both sauces were subtle and correct. The mussels were fresh and flavourful, and allied with the tomato and wine this was an excellent dish. Spaghetti alfredo is one of the most misunderstood of Italian dishes, even down to the spelling (correctly it is spaghetti Alfredo) and is often used as a dumping ground for a whole host of ingredients. But this had just butter, cheese and a little cream, and while the last ingredient is not classic, it nevertheless works well in the dish. Nothing fussy, nothing overworked, and very pleasing.
The 10-year-old moved from soup to sausages, and while these were announced as coming with beans, the restaurant had none of the latter, and served them with a good salad. The bangers were good, and he was happy.
I was even happier, with a dish of thin sliced beef "Ar Vicoletto". This was wafer-thin pieces of beef, served with a rocket salad, which was just terrific, again simple - and benefiting from it. This was the star dish of the evening, and showed the shortcomings of a dish of aubergine Parmigiana, which simply didn't work, the cheese being stringy for some reason, and the aubergine flat in flavour. Interestingly, this was the one "tratt" dish we ordered, the one excursion into "1,001 Things to do with a Tin of Tomatoes", and they had simply got it wrong, which I found curiously reassuring. They aren't good at the cliches, thank heavens.
We drank some barolo after the Sicilian white, and I think Luigi should consider taking it down off the shelves and putting it somewhere cool, for heat can make a red such as barolo seem rather flabby. Its taut, reined-in flavours mean it is best served cool.
Service, on a quiet Monday evening, was relaxed and charming, and Ar Vicoletto is one of those places you could find yourself returning to time and again, for it is simple, unpretentious, inexpensive, and fun.
Ar Vicoletto, 5 Crow Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2. Tel: 01- 6708662 Open: 11 a.m.-midnight, Mon-Sun. Major cards.