Lauren Bubb, we’ve chosen yours as our review of the month. You were lucky enough to have a meal at Scarpetta, Woodstock’s new Italian spot. We love your passion for discovering the best new spots in town, your in-depth reporting and how much joy you have for dessert.

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Scarpetta (Woodstock)

Finally! I went to Scarpetta. What a treat. With Cape Town culture having a boom of Asian-inspired food (think ramen and bao), vegan and tapas places in the last few years, I am so thrilled we have a refreshing new legit Italian restaurant to frequent. I say frequent because the pricing is so good, it makes sense to visit often. I cannot think of one person who does not like Italian food; it’s the ultimate comfort food all year round and when done properly, it turns into an intense addiction. But let’s get down to the details: Situated in Woodstock, it’s so close to where we live (Vredehoek). Roodebloem Road, Woodstock, is so central in general – such a great spot to have a restaurant. Especially for parking. None of this town nonsense of driving around forever to just park. We did Uber, though, because with no corkage (no liquor licence), I took through two bottles of wine for our table. Uber is also a good option because Scarpetta is so central.

The branding is fantastic. I absolutely love the logo, which you see on the beautiful signage outside. Great care has been taken in expressing what Scarpetta is about through the logo. Ricky Turilli is such a great host, I cannot imagine him not doing any other career. Ricky knows how to do restaurants properly. We were warmly greeted and seated by Ricky and his staff in this warm, intimate space. The main menu is on a chalk board in the front, but of course there were extra special dishes that were explained to us. There was fresh bread on the table – it’s always a great start when you get bread.

 

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We started with caprese – so beautiful and fresh. What a winner. You can order family-style when you have a large table, which just makes so much sense. We had bolognese, the signature dish. The sauce!!! Absolutely divine. The pasta quality is out of this world and cooked superbly. We had also ordered the fettuccini funghi. I think that would become my regular order at Scarpetta. We also tried their aubergine parmigiana/eggplant melanzane – as it was a special, we just could not resist. Wowee!! Best I have tasted. Full of flavour. For dessert: cannoli and tiramisu. I cannot recommend either enough. Cannoli is what dreams are made of.

It’s a great place for families, dates, friend dates… just perfect. Has that regular spot vibe. Thrilled that Scarpetta is on the scene.

Brought to you by Retail Capital, sponsors of the Eat Out Retail Capital New Restaurant of the Year Award. Want to find more new restaurants in your city? Check out our new restaurants section.

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