Getting a pizza the action

Porto Bello, the new Italian restaurant in the Grand Millennium Al Wahda, will bring some fiery Italian passion to Abu Dhabi’s food scene, says manager Marco Di Pasquale.

Fiery and passionate are words more commonly associated with Italy than Abu Dhabi. But this need not be the case anymore, explains Porto Bello restaurant manager Marco Di Pasquale — whose recently opened Italian restaurant at the new Grand Millennium Al Wahda is bringing some much needed fire to the heart of Abu Dhabi’s dining scene.

Setting Porto Bello apart from other Italian offerings in the emirate, says Di Pasquale, is the fact that “we have, I believe, the best pizzas in the city”.

“Our pizza bases are all made from dough made with Italian flour and it does make a difference to the taste. Secondly, we have a charming Roman style piazza, an outside terrace where diners can sit and watch passers-by whilst enjoying dinner or lunch. This is already proving popular with both guests and local residents,” he says.

People who have yet to try Porto Bello’s cuisine can expect a homely trattoria style restaurant, which prepares traditional Italian cuisine with a contemporary twist and concentrates on the art of simplicity.
“This outlet is all about simplicity — simple dishes done well,” Di Pasquale explains.

“Most of all, Porto Bello will introduce to Abu Dhabi the art of sharing, a unique dining experience that reintroduces the simple pleasures of dining with friends through the sharing of a variety of Italian delights,
family style,” he adds.

The restaurant is currently still in the soft opening stage and is expected to have its official opening in February.

“There is always a lot of planning in the early stages of a restaurant, but once the concept has been agreed then follows a period of many months before everything is in place,” he says.

“It takes longer here because many of the items are sourced from Italy and we have to wait for things to arrive. Things are done differently here — in Europe you don’t open until everything is 100% in place, whether that is furniture, crockery or training.”

Though everything is not yet ‘in place’, the restaurant has already begun offering diners lunchtime offers — an attempt to pull in numbers early and get the restaurant off to a flying start.

“We introduced the express lunch to give office workers a beautiful meal that is not heavy and that diners know will be served quickly so they can get back to their office within their lunch break. The menu changes daily and diners can choose either a starter and a main course or a main course and a dessert,” Di Pasquale says.

“Although we are still in soft opening we have some positive feedback from the diners who have come in for lunch or dinner, so we expect to do very well once we are finally fully open,” he adds.

And Di Pasquale is more than ready to launch in to the Abu Dhabi dining scene, saying he believes there is “a lack of passion in the restaurants in Abu Dhabi, which is probably down to a lack of training”.

“For example I was eating out last week and the waiter placed some bread and a dip on the table without explaining what the dip was. This could have been something that I was allergic to and I could have dipped my bread without knowing this.

“I am a firm believer in explaining why we do what we do. Many employees are simply told what to do and don’t have things explained to them, which eventually leads to a lack of motivation,” he adds.

There is certainly no passion lacking in Di Pasquale, who is keen to divulge details of Porto Bello’s signature offerings.

“One of our must-try dishes is the Pappardelle Porto Bello which is home-made pasta with diver’s scallops, rugula, extra virgin olive oil, roasted garlic and oregano,” he enthuses.

“Another dish is our Filetto Porto Bello, which is fillet of beef with grilled portobello mushrooms, balsamic reduction and roast garlic mashed potato. All of our dishes are clean and light and not based on heavy cream sauces.”

And with that tantalising offer, Di Pasquale is sure to stir things up for the emirate’s diners and restaurateurs alike.