Nova,
12 Callender Street,
Belfast,
BT1 5BN
novabelfast.com
028 9033 2223
ONE of the reasons the Aperol spritz has found itself capitulated up the cocktail hit parade in recent years is the evocative effect of food and drink.
A plate or a glass can transport you right to the heart of somewhere else, especially if it offers a stark – or welcome – contrast to location of the table the plate or glass is sitting on.
So, the sunset orange mix of Prosecco, bitter liqueur and a splash of fizzy water benefits from the fact it immediately transports the drinker to languid days on the Italian seaside.
That could be the case the second the sun pokes out its head here, amplifying the summeriness of it all, or it could be – as it is this early January evening – leaning into that stark contrast between the glass and where it’s sitting.
Actually, that’s a little unfair, as Nova in Belfast city centre is a bright, warm, welcoming space. It just happens to look out onto an alleyway and the shared back-end of a Next and an M&S.
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So, no-one’s going to mistake this for St Mark’s Square, but that lovely aperitivo and the precisely-put-together Italian dishes it comes with will take you somewhere you absolutely want to be.
Smaller plates – doing the job as generous starters here – are both brilliant.
Potato terrines are crisp constructions right the way through, with the thinly layered golden spuds proving a perfect vehicle for cacio e pepe sauce and a snowdrift of Grana Padano, a moreish twist on the classic Roman cheese and pepper pasta dish.
No-one’s going to mistake this for St Mark’s Square, but that lovely aperitivo and the precisely-put-together Italian dishes it comes with will take you somewhere you absolutely want to be
An aubergine and garlic dip is rich, smoky and thoughtful, topped with pumpkin seeds and whopping thumb-sized cloves of squidgy sweet confit garlic and blush pink pickled onions. Foccacia from the local Fera bakery is the implement you get to mop it all up with.
A huge bowl of ravioli is a simple, elegant answer to the question of how to make a carbonara somehow even more comforting, richer and inviting.
At Nova they stuff the little cushions of pasta with more of the guanciale and cheese from the sauce and have the lot swimming in its slinky, eggy bath.
Across the table, the batons of confit squid – perfectly cooked to a soft, almost buttery texture – are a bit too subtle for their own good on a plate full of slap and punch.
It’s a shame, given their presence justifies the £19 price tag, and the fact everything else is on point.
As with the ravioli, the thin, ebony lengths of squid-ink tagliolini pasta are spot on, and their slick coating pools into a spiky lagoon underneath it all. Little slices of fresh chilli give a slightly fruity kick and, all in all, it’s addictive stuff, even with the squid finding itself a little lost.
A side-dish with these big bowls of pasta is probably unnecessary, but charred leeks with romesco sauce, stealing some Spanish influence for this Italian feast, intrigues.
The barrels of veg are hot and sweet with their allium tang, while the sauce, thick with peppers and almonds, is a slap of cold, almost like the one you get when leaving the place.
But this one is delicious – and there’s another duvet of Grana Padano to stop you getting too chilly. It’s a gorgeous thing.
There’s a slight temperature issue with the tiramisu – it’s much too chilled in the middle but the rich familiar wodge of mascarpone, marsala, coffee and ladyfinger sponge is delicious.
The problem with the lemon mess is that it’s been rammed into a receptacle much too small for its conceit.
It doesn’t resemble its Eton namesake at all, but is rather an excellent limoncello posset with a scoop of good ice cream and a canopy of meringue.
Given the size of the bowl, you have to get through plenty of it before being able to mess it up sufficiently. But it’s all lovely stuff, with the posset especially good, its limoncello tang offering a burst of Amalfi Coast sunshine to a frigid back alley in Belfast.
For that alone, Nova is worth a visit - but there are plenty more reasons to stay.
The bill
- Aubergine dip £8.50
- Potato terrine £7
- Ravioli carbonara £16.50
- Squid ink tagliolini £19
- Charred leeks £5
- Tiramisu £6.50
- Lemon mess £7.50
- Aperol Spritz £10
- Spicy Margarita £11
Total: £91
