Hard To Choose Between Two Superb Ragus at Bella Napoli!

Hard To Choose Between Two 

Superb Ragus at Bella Napoli!

Ragu Alla Genovese

As we’ve come to expect from Italian restaurants in Ireland, you get multiple choices in a long menu. Cork’s lively Bella Napoli is no exception.

I had read it before last Saturday afternoon’s visit and was inclined towards a Ragu. They have two: Ragu Napolitano and Ragu Alla Genovese.

I was familiar with the Napolitano as I had hugely enjoyed it on a previous visit though the pasta is now pappardelle (the ribbony one!) rather than the tubular rigatoni. Saturday’s menu description read: 8-hour braised beef in an onion & tomato sauce served with pappardelle pasta, toasted sourdough and parmesan shavings.

I was tempted again by the Napolitano, but this time, I said to myself and herself that I’d go for their Ragu Alla Genovese: Slow-cooked pulled beef, onions, white wine served with paccheri pasta, fresh basil, pecorino cheese and toasted sourdough. The paccheri, by the way, is visibly larger and wider than rigatoni. It does the same job, soaking in the flavoursome ragu itself. 

They served toasted sourdough to accompany the ragu, which also helped take up the final taste bits. So, a big thumbs up for the Genovese. Hard to say if it is better than the Napolitano! Looks like I’ll have to call again.

Mussels Alla Busara

Across the table, CL was equally pleased with her choice of mains, the Chicken Scaloppine: Marinated chicken breast, dredged in flour, cooked in butter and lemon sauce, and served with crushed baked potatoes, honey and rosemary-glazed baby carrots. It is a simple enough dish but quite superb as well.

We had started with their Mussels Alla Busara. Busara is a local name for “stew”, and it is an integral part of Croatian coastal cuisine and is also claimed by parts of north-eastern Italy.

The Bella Napoli version consists of fresh mussels cooked in olive oil, garlic, freshly chopped parsley, white wine, and breadcrumbs, served with our homemade puccia bread and lemon wedge. The breadcrumbs, by the way, are used to thicken the sauce. I don't think I’ve come across puccia bread before. It is a type of bread from Puglia, and its small pocket takes a variety of fillings. However, the tasty breads served here were not for filling but for soaking up the delicious sauce that came with the mussels. An excellent dish and the only downside was that a higher proportion than usual of the mussels did not open!

Chicken Scaloppine

If you love your pizza, you won't be disappointed as they have about twenty variations. You may also order a gluten-free pizza base, which will cost an extra euro. Almost as many pasta dishes are available, plus about eight other main courses and various starters and salads, not forgetting sides.

If you manage it, you will find something you like on the dessert menu as well, though we didn’t manage it at the weekend. Previously, though, we enjoyed their traditional Tiramisu and the mega Nutella Pizza (Nutella, strawberries, bananas & icing sugar).

They do walk-ins (from their two entrances (French Church Street and Academy Street), but if you want to dine at a particular time, you’re advised to book. For instance, we saw seven people turned away in one minute around the three o’clock mark on Saturday. You may be lucky. A few minutes later, a group of four was accommodated, though they had to wait a few minutes for a table to be cleared. Bella Napoli is a very popular place, and they also do takeaway.

Ragu Napolitano  (previous visit)