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August 12th, 2013

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A fair priced restaurant in Tivoli that still offers real food can be difficult to find. So if you plan a trip to Tivoli – possibly before one of their Friday evening concerts, The Italian – located just outside the park – is a good place to start. 

The Italian is one of the many Cofoco restaurants, which in itself bodes well. As we had not anticipated the difficulties of finding a restaurant in Tivoli, we were a bit late with our booking – and yet the staff were friendly and accommodating in finding a good table for us. And not least – which is sometimes the case with Cofoco restaurants – we were not told we only had a two-hour seating span. 

The menu is mainly Italian – unsurprisingly given the name. True to the Cofoco restaurant concept, you are able to pick and choose your own two or three-course meal from the antipasti, secondi, paste, pizze, and dolci – for a given price of 225kr for the ‘menu di pizze’ and 295kr for the ‘menu classico’. 

For a starter I chose the Mozzarella bufala. Though possibly an unoriginal choice, this is often somewhat of a gamble. As heavenly as mozzarella can taste, more often than not, it is uninteresting, watery and tasteless. The Italian, however, served a huge and tasty portion of mozzarella with tomatoes that actually tasted like they had seen the sun. My friend chose the Salumi misto – which is a selection of Italian air-dried ham, bresaola, fennel salami, artichoke and aioli. Again, The Italian is generous with their portion sizes – this was almost a meal in itself, and a good one. Especially their air-dried ham was delicious – not too salty and yet not bland either. 

For our main course my friend chose the Ravioli with spinach, ricotta, walnut, brown butter and sage. Ravioli is by definition a bit on the heavy side, but if one can reconcile that, this was quite a treat for the taste buds. I chose the Risotto with mushrooms and herbs. A hefty portion, but it was very well-seasoned and had great flavour. 

For dessert I was intrigued by their offer of Panna cotta with frozen water melon and dark chocolate. This, though, was the only part of the meal that was slightly disappointing. Possibly watermelon is not meant to be frozen unless you add vodka to it. This one just tasted like water and the dark chocolate underneath the watermelon turned a bit like what happens when you are unsuccessful at melting your chocolate properly and water is accidentally added to the mix. The panna cotta was very good though – and since the first two courses were so generous, it was more than enough to have only a third of my dessert. My friend chose the passionfruit tart with Italian meringue and chocolate ice cream. This on the other hand was spot on. And made you wish you had room for one more.

For our starter, our waiter had recommended a glass of prosecco, for just 40 kroner, and since this tasted very refreshing, we opted to drink it for the whole meal – along with sparkling water (20kr) with unlimited refills. 

The table arrangements added to the positive impression of The Italian. With inexpensive prices and a good location, The Italian is busy to the point of crowded. Yet the tables are arranged in such a way that there is still enough space between the tables to ensure some level of privacy from the other guests. In spite of the beautiful high ceiling, the acoustics are alright as well. So the fact that you can actually have a private conversation and not worry about being overheard all the time meant that aside from our party – heading for Tivoli – the Italian also seemed to be the venue for a number of business dinners and a few second dates. 

So I would recommend the Italian for the perhaps slightly unoriginal but tasty menu, the very reasonable prices and the accommodating and friendly staff. 

Quattro Fontane
Guldbergsgade 3, Sankt Hans Torv, Cph N; 3539 3931
Open: Mon-Sat 12:00-24:00,
Sun 16:00- 24:00
Cuisine: Italian
Top Dish: Pizza Rucola e
Parmigiano
Price Range: Mains 70-200kr www.quattrofontane.dk
www.cool-green.dk