<\/p>\n
Spiga<\/h2>\n
Where:<\/strong> 465 Innes Road, Morningside<\/p>\n Open:<\/strong> Daily 11am to 9pm<\/p>\n Call:<\/strong> 067 138 1115<\/p>\n It\u2019s great to see restaurants buzzing. On a drizzly Thursday night, three of us popped into an old favourite for a simple meal and found the last table on the upper deck \u2012 I suppose their equivalent of outer Mongolia.<\/p>\n Spiga was doing what it does best: pumping out good value Italian food to hungry Durbanites. Service is brisk and efficient. Owner Marco Santoniccola is very much in form, creating a \u201cwelcome home\u201d vibe. The vino arrives promptly.<\/p>\n Starters are Italian in style and made for sharing. There are bowls of olives, grilled artichokes, home-made meatballs or plates of Parma ham and buffalo Mozzarella. Platters may take in any of the above plus spicy salami, mushrooms, Gorgonzola, and olive tapenade \u2012 all served with a focaccia.<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s bruschetta \u2012 that\u2019s toast to you and me \u2012 given the Italian treatment with tomato relish and basil pesto, or tomato, avo and Parmesan, or smoked salmon cream cheese and black pepper.<\/p>\n The three of us opt to share the carpaccio (R135) with Parmesan shavings and baby mushrooms and a balsamic glaze along with a garlic and rosemary focaccia (R65). An inspired choice, with a large platter of thinly sliced fillet mopped up with the lovely crisp focaccia dipped in a good olive oil.<\/p>\n For mains, it\u2019s a menu many from Durban love, with a selection of pizzas and pastas that are quick and tasty. All have their favourites. Foodie Ingrid Shevlin is a fan of the cartoccio, spaghetti cooked in a bag with olive oil, wine, garlic and chilli and an array of seafood. When you open the bag at the table the aromas are intoxicating.<\/p>\n My friend Meleney loves the tagliatelle Roma with chicken, roasted red and yellow peppers and an aglio olio base. A vegetarian friend loves the linguine alla Shaik, a simple toss together of garlic, chilli, plum tomato, basil and olive oil. One of my favourites is the simple spinach and ricotta panzerotti topped with a supremely rich Gorgonzola sauce.<\/p>\n I was persuaded to try the Glass Guy\u2019s favourite, the lasagne with Gorgonzola (R135) \u2012 in fact we all went the Gorgonzola route \u2012 which was an inspired dish. Basically mama\u2019s hearty lasagne topped with Gorgonzola and baked in the oven until everything had gone oozy, sticky and thoroughly delicious. It might look like a pile of mush in the picture but I lapped up every last tasty morsel, the Gorgonzola giving it an extra kick. There\u2019s also a chicken, and a prawn lasagne option.<\/p>\n The Glass Guy went for the gnocchi, again in a Gorgonzola sauce (R125), the gnocchi light and reminding him of the dish his Sicilian grandmother used to make him as a kid. I enjoyed it.<\/p>\n For Colin it was the linguine alla chef (R125), in a rich Gorgonzola, garlic, mushroom and cream sauce, to which he added bacon (R35). What came was a carbonara on steroids which is exactly what he felt like and he lapped it all up. I\u2019d certainly recommend it, if you like rich cream sauces.<\/p>\n We finished the second bottle of wine rather than tackle desserts, which take in a good tiramisu \u2012 I\u2019d had it recently; an affogato \u2012 that\u2019s ice cream topped with espresso, or a selection of gelato.<\/p>\n Food:<\/strong> 3 \u00bd<\/p>\n