La Tavernetta, Bratirro, Calabria: Pizza, pollo, pints!

Off-the-beaten-track trattoria a genuine hidden gem

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Many a TV chef has assured us that if you want to try the best Italian food, then it’s time to say bye-bye to the tourist traps and head to paths less well-trodden. If La Tavernetta, in Bratirro, Calabria, is anything to go by, they couldn’t be more right.

As pizza and pollo (chicken) aren’t exactly uncommon in this part of the world, it needs to be something special. Pints? Well, they did arrive in a Fuller’s glass, and surely that alone is reason enough for this review.

I’d actually visited this charming little bar-restaurant several times before; only for a couple of glasses of wine, to my eternal shame. The last time I visited I’d been told I had to try the chicken wings. Not one to obsess over what I was missing out on (not much), I made that my mission for next time, which due to unforseen circumstances turned out to be a pilgrimage three years in the making!

La Tavernetta is best described as unassumingly charismatic. I’ll leave you to make up your minds how to take that, but it’s undoubtedly reflected in the thirty something, husband and wife team that run these premises, Carlo and Rafaela. Their charming presence front of house, as well as behind the bar, is only matched by their passion for this place.

While local produce abounds in Calabria, this unfortunately doesn’t stretch to decent-quality wine, which is why Carlo takes the trouble to go to Tuscany to supply La Tavernetta’s cellars. Talk about going the extra mile! No such need exists when it comes to beer. Not everywhere does Nastro Azzuro ‘alla spina’ (on draught), and surely no-one does it quite so well. This care for beer surely has something to do with the couple being genuine anglophiles.

Now you’re probably assuming that the chicken wings kicked things off, but you’d be wrong. Why? Firstly, I was eating out with my parents (who retired to Italy in 2011) so it was a shared pizza. Second, as chickens aren’t taken to meet their maker when they’ve barely started growing feathers, like they are in Britain, they’re left to grow a bit bigger and so there’s more meat on the wings. Makes sense, doesn’t it. Anyway, on to the wings in a bit, as the cheesey platter of perfection had arrived. We’d ordered a 12″ Diavola, where nice n’ spicy but never too much is the order of the day. There’s only one topping that could strike this delicate balance with its eyes closed, and that’s ‘nduja, which is found in this part of the world in abundance. Its hometown of Spilinga is but 11km away – no travelling required here.

Another delicate balance, and arguably more tricky to pull off is a soft(ish) crust that’s crispy in all the right places. It was never in doubt, really. This being Southern Italy it was naturally a thin crust, and so I was now well and truly converted: the phrase ‘deep pan’ has now disappeared from my vocabulary altogether. Hell, my dad hates pizza and even he can’t get enough of La Tavernetta’s. The best pizza I’ve tried this side – make that both sides – of Naples.

And so, at last, to the infamous ‘ali di pollo’ – chicken wings. As you’ll notice from the picture, theyre quite dark in colouration, which to me has always been a good sign: a lot that are paler in appearance tend to taste that way, too. I’m very pleased to report that my suspicions were correct and that all the plaudits had been justified. I had, however, heard that at least one person found them a little too salty, but if you can’t stand the seasoning, get out the wine, as they say.

There was also a slight zing to the taste as well, leaving them comparable to what you’d get at a high-quality Chinese restaurant. To top things off, the coating was healthy in texture, with just enough crispiness to make a statement, without straying into jawbreaker territory as some some do, making it an effort to chew at times. Light and crispy? Well, if the two courses were to have anything in common…

As the eating came to an end, it was only right to sing our praises in the local lingo. Our waiter, suitably charming for this establishment, and indeed Bratirro, was only too happy to point out that it’s a slightly different part of the phrase book to when you’re complimenting a person, say. This constructive criticism with a smile was more than welcome – free education’s a rare thing nowadays. One other thing I’d learnt is that La Tavernetta is never to be forgotten, which is more than can be said for words like ‘deep’ and ‘pan’.