Pici – Italian – Nottingham
Broad Street is exactly the sort of location that should have a buzzing Italian restaurant. Until recently this strip at the heart of Hockley saw bustling institutions of The Lord Roberts pub and the Broadway Cinema sit alongside Bohns and Kayal as the best of the dining choices. Ryo,n from the excellent pizza at Slice n Brew, came along to shake up that status quo and as I sat surrounded by twentysomethings drinking orange wine, it looks like he achieved it. The core of their menu are small plates and pasta, though there are also ‘mains’ and ‘pizzettes’.
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Garlic & parmigiano pizette – Pici – Nottingham
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The wine menu matches the clientele, the skin contact wine section almost as long as the list of whites. No qualms though, a good mix of trad and trendy are available. Our first dish was a heritage tomato selection (£9), some a little roasted and coated in herb oil with stracciatella. Pleasant enough but limited by the quality of tomatoes. I had been looking forward to courgette fritti (£7.50), Pici’s additions of hot honey and ricotta sounding like just enough of a twist on a classic. I still believe the concept was sound but our batons had not quite spent long enough in the fryer, a little soggy and undercooked. A pizzette (£7) was always going to be quality with the excellent dough from slice n brew. Our choice was with garlic butter and parmigiano. Some might love to be swimming in garlic butter, for me it was too much.
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Courgette Fritti – Pici – Nottingham
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A firm highlight was the cacio e pepe (£11.50). It might be because we are starved of good pasta in Nottingham but this was the best I had had in a long time. The pasta homemade and perfectly al dente. The sauce simple but packing a punch from the pecorino and pepper. This was a celebratory meal and we decided to share a t-bone steak. Although this was a whopping £42 didn’t seem egregious for the amount and quality you got. Having asked for medium rare some might struggle with just how little cooking it received but fortunately that suited us. Served with a lovely spiced and herbed butter, quality ingredients served simply should not be underestimated.
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Cacio e pepe – Pici – Nottingham
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I was upsold a tiramisu. I didn’t need it but who can resist? Especially as I count it among my favourite desserts. What I have come to understand is that there are two camps for this iconic dish. If, like me, you are in the camp that wants it to be a boozy, deeply flavoured, coffee-ed indulgence, then you may be disappointed by Pici’s version. It’s light, understated and tasty. Despite those technical achievements, it doesn’t pack the flavour that I long for.
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With the exception of the tomato dish everything seemed good value. Service was excellent and with a good amount of personality. Since my first visit I returned with improved courgette fritti and a lovely rigatoni with tomato sauce and fennel sausage. They seem to be evolving and refining the menu but there is more than enough potential to go straight to the upper echelons of the best Italian restaurants in Nottingham.
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