I do not know all the story, but the restaurant Barolo has a real Italian chef in the kitchen and offers very interesting and authentic Italian dishes. Barolo is a town and wine from Piedmont, a Northern Italian region. It is remarkable and deserves a review since Ningbo does not stand out in terms of non-Chinese food. Here’s the write up of my two visits.
The visit(s)
The restaurant is located in a shopping and entertainment complex called The East Shore, not far away from downtown Ningbo.
One interesting thing about the restaurant is that they always have a lot of specials available (ask for the blackboard) on top of the regular menu. Also, they organize special events time to time. On my first visit they had porchetta and on my second visit they had a number of tuna dishes.
On both of my visits the bread (with some diced tomatoes) was supplemented by a croquette.
The porchetta dish was quite big, suitable for two people to share. It was very good.
Porchetta is a boneless pork roast part of the Italian tradition prepared with garlic, rosemary, fennel, or other herbs.
During the “porchetta night” I also had homemade gnocchi with veal ragout. It was a very delicate dish, from the specials.
The dessert was an homage to the Piedmont tradition, a gianduiotto mousse.
In my second visit I had a tuna tartare with buffalo cheese cream puffs. The cheese was a very good complement.
I tried their ravioli filled with cheese. Another very delicate dish beautifully presented.
The main dish was grilled tuna (rare inside, tataki style) with vegetables and a spinach sauce. Perfect dish, again very professionally presented.
To “cap” the meal I had a bonet, a cake that can be described as a cross-over between creme caramel, blancmange and chocolate pudding that has been prepared in Piedmont for centuries.
The check(s)
The first meal, with two courses and dessert, cost me 414 RMB (62 USD).
The second check was 670 RMB (100 USD) for appetizer, pasta, main and a dessert. The check above shows 720 RMB, but there was a mistake in the price of the main dish and I did not pay that.
Barolo is an excellent restaurant, its food and presentation is up to five-star standards. It could be a restaurant in Shanghai. Unfortunately quality costs and the price point is not cheap.
Where in Ningbo:
No. 3-5, The East Shore, Yinzhou District
In Chinese: 东岸里广场.
Tel: 0574-87078717