The lights are twinkling, the baubles are shining, there are touches of silver and gold everywhere and there’s a warm, celebratory atmosphere at Rosso. Actually, to be fair, this classic Italian restaurant is always glitzy and sparkly, so you can only imagine how magical it looks and feels at this time of year.
Rib-sticking dishes like gnocchi with slow cooked duck ragu
Everybody knows how busy things are in December; there’s shopping to do, presents to wrap, cards to write, school concerts and nativity plays to attend and often more than one Christmas do to go to. This is a great time of year for catching up with people you might not have seen for a while, such as old friends or family visiting from far and wide. If you really want to feel spoilt, there is still time to treat yourselves to Rosso’s Christmas lunch menu.
Available between 12pm-4pm, it’s quite a special deal, with a range of wonderful starters, main courses and desserts for only £25 per person. What’s more, if your plan for a quiet break from shopping turns into a larger scale do for twelve friends or more, Rosso will treat each of you to a mini bottle of Bottega super-premium sparkling wine from Venice, in gold or rose gold bottles (pre-bookings only).
Luxurious and warming Italian starters include a silky parsnip soup with garlic croutons, penne pasta with calabrese sausage and pecorino, or a richly comforting bruscetta con funghi with creamy garlic mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. If you prefer to keep it light, enjoy Rosso’s famous buffalo mozzarella with ripe beef tomato and wild rocket, a selection of Italian cured meats with melon or smoked salmon with fresh beetroot and potato salad with homemade pickles.
Any Christmas menu wouldn’t be complete without turkey for main course, but this being Rosso, tacchino arrosto is a little more exciting. Ballotine of turkey has been rolled with herbs and sausage and wrapped in smoked pancetta before being smothered in a delicious marsala and cranberry gravy and topped with a turkey meatball. All main courses come with a side dish of roast potatoes and fresh vegetables. No stewed sprouts here, at Rosso you’ll enjoy a selection of peas, vibrant green beans, carrots, baby corn and broccoli.
If you prefer to save your turkey for the big day, you’ll still be spoilt for choice. One of our favourites was the amusingly named ‘Stinco D’Agnello’; slow braised lamb shank served with mixed bean casserole – this one slips down a treat with a festive glass of Barolo. We all know how wonderful Italian food is in summer, but they also certainly win at comfort food, with rib-sticking dishes like gnocchi with slow cooked duck ragu. If fish is more your thing, enjoy grilled fillets of red mullet served over a silky saffron risotto and spiced olive oil dressing. Vegetarians won’t be left out in the cold – especially when you consider how much care and attention Rosso devote to sourcing only the freshest seasonal vegetables. Tuck in to the classic wild mushroom and kale risotto with a drizzle of earthy truffle oil, or tris di vegetali ripieni – trio of stuffed vegetables including roasted pepper, Portobello mushroom and goat’s cheese and beef tomato with fregula pasta (similar to giant couscous.)
The Italian love of puddings is well known, so Rosso have decided to include three ‘dolci alla Rosso’ on their Christmas menu, thus saving you the difficulty of having to choose. Enjoy traditional pannetone with custard, mincemeat pastry crumble (made with Rosso’s signature mincemeat) and (because chocolate is part of Christmas law) flourless chocolate truffle cake with brandy cream.
With Rosso’s legendary Italian wine list and their extensive range of specialist cocktails, a simple pre-Christmas Christmas lunch as Rosso, will have you feeling merry and bright and in the mood for the big day itself.
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