Franzina Trattoria
ALL GOOD IN THE HOOD
We’ve got three days in saaf London to recce the area before our daughter starts university. With the bustle of Brixton just 15 minutes walk from her halls, we’ve found an AirBnB apartment on Electric Avenue that’ll turn out to be a bit of challenge for our family of light sleepers, but we’re undeniably in the heart of the action. And being in the middle of a proper heatwave—more Mediterranean than Indian summer—with Brixton’s unique vibe it fully feels like being properly abroad.
Running with that particular fantasy, on our wander around to get our bearings I spot Franzina Trattoria with a menu featuring mostly traditional Sicilian small plates and pastas; it’s totally our kind of food.
It’s a large, elegant room with open plan kitchen sitting centrally and splitting the dining area into two distinct sections. It’s intimate up front and we’re shown into the back with bigger tables and clear plastic dividers to partition diners. We’re brought water and order a bottle of Cos Nero di Lupo (£32); like no Nero d’Avola I’ve ever had before… just 11.5% with distinct citrus notes on the palate.
Interior / rear
We decide on a sharing board featuring ‘homemade’ sfincione—somewhere between a dense foccacia and a deep pan pizza topped with fried onions and dried oregano; cazzilli—potato croquettes that I can only imagine are unintentionally flaccid; panelle—chick pea fritters, which prove to be an excellent scooping tool for the caponata with the right kind of agrodolce tanginess; polpetta di melanzane—fried aubergine balls with pine nuts and raisins; and lovely succulent green olives.
Schiticchio / Sharing Plate
We’ve supplemented this with the arancina, looking like the goose’s golden egg. It’s got the right kind of crunch but its saffron rice and smoked cheese flavours are too subtle.
Arancina with saffron rice and caciotta cheese
A ‘rapipititto’ salad is mostly fennel with shallot, olives, orange and topped—it’s a fresh and crunchy delight but for the heavy handiness of dried oregano.
Insalata rapipititto
It’s a satisfactory start but rather than transport me to Palermo I’m taken no further than a suburban branch of Zizzi. Fortunately, my perfectly al dente fresh pasta is working harder to fuel my fantasy. The tagliatelle nero di sepia—black squid ink, calamari, chilli and parsley—is a black, creamy bowl of the sea and the calamari is generous and perfect on the bite.
Tagliatelle nero di sepia
The girls have both gone for the tagliatelle ammuttunata—predominantly baby aubergines and a tomato sauce. They are big plates of pasta and Katrina throws the towel in at the halfway point so I do the honourable thing and order a glass of premium grade Nero d’Avola to assist me clearing her plate. Whilst it’s got one foot firmly in the Norma camp, I’m not getting any of the promised smokiness, nor mint in the mix.
Tagliatelle ammuttunata
It’s got every kind of dessert that would normally entice me all too easily to their charms (not to mention dessert wines too), but I’m not getting any buy-in from the girls to even go with a tiramisù and three spoons. Now that’s a first.
The food has been very hit and miss, but the service has been excellent throughout—friendly, knowledgeable and professional. After paying the bill of £109, including service charge, we wander out into the balmy Brixton night. The illusion of being properly abroad is now well gone, but we’re all very upbeat about our daughter’s new neighbourhood.
395 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, SW9 8LQ
