Italian restaurant L’Aquila has been described as a 'hidden gem' tucked away in the leafy north Leeds village of Boston Spa.
So we decided to head over there to test out their dishes, to see if they met the high praise it had been receiving with a 4.5 rating on TripAdvisor. The independent restaurant is located in High Street, along a parade of restaurants and bars, there was real buzz around the village which has grown ever more salubrious over the years.
We learned L’Aquila derives its name from the Albanian folklore which dubbed the country as 'Land of the Eagles'. The owners are from Albania and have many years of experience working in Italian restaurants. So when it came to naming their own Italian restaurant, they decided to call it after the Italian province and city L’Aquila, which means 'The Eagle' as an affectionate nod to their heritage.
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And when you step into the eatery, located on the corner of St Mary’s Street, you’re welcomed by a sense of rustic authenticity. The interior has a natural wooden design, with dark worn floorboards, simplistic wooden tables and warm halogen hanging light features.
Bottles of wine adorn the shelves, along with portraits of Italy along the walls. It was open plan, large windows across the eatery allowed for a vast array of light across the dining room. We visited on a summery Tuesday evening and it was busy, full of happy customers.
Those on the table beside us spoke of how they were regulars, who would often nip down to the restaurant to enjoy a bottle of wine and a starter.
The main element which stood out to us is the restaurant’s fish delicacy. Posts on their social media pages often show them preparing a fresh batch of seafood. Plus, the menu proudly proclaims how there is a daily specials menu. We later discovered from the co-owner how these are transported directly from the coasts of Hartlepool every day, except for a Sunday.
So, of course, we went for their seafood options. For my starter, I ordered the Mussels and my dinner companion ordered the pan fried seabass fillet.
The mussels were stacked in the ample sized bowl, I couldn’t help thinking this could be considered a main in most restaurants since the portion size was so generous. The same could be said of the seabass fillet! The mussels came in a cream, white wine, garlic and thyme sauce, which was rich with flavour and went down very easily.
My dinner guest said the seabass fillet, which came with rocket leaves in lemon dressing and parmesan shavings, was delicate with subtle flavours. These elements of a good seabass fillet can so often be lost when the fish is pan fried, so to have retained these qualities shows a deft touch in the kitchen. Compliments were sent to the chef.
The quality of service was also pleasant with attentive staff who were happy to chat about the dishes. One of our waiters was in fact the co-owner who was happy to chat with us about the history of the restaurant and their background in food, having opened the restaurant just four-years-ago.
For our next course, I ordered the Linguine ai frutti di mare and my guest had the ravioli branzino. We also ordered the zucchini fritti as a side order to share - which were beautifully seasoned and perfectly fried.
The linguine seafood dish came with prawns, mussels, scallops, squid, sweet cherry tomatoes, white wine, fresh chilli, and garlic. Again, it was a very generous portion and it was sumptuous. The prawns were ample sized and cooked delicately.
The real highlight of the meal was the ravioli dish however, the parcels of pasta were filled with seabass, chopped tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil and white wine sauce.
My guest described the dish as 'stupendous' and I couldn’t help but agree after being given a nibble. So much so that I regretted not ordering that dish myself.
I told the co-owner of my regrets and he said with a smile: “Next time, you can order it!” So, I do hope the dish remains on the specials menu when I visit again in the future – which is likely given the high quality, generous portion sizes and rustic atmosphere.
Even though I was feeling rather full, I had to try their tiramisu offering for dessert. It came in sundae-esque bowl with a pair of strawberries adorning the creamy top. It had a sharp amaretto flavour and fresh cream. Just splendid.
The bill
- Mussels starter - £12.75
- Seabass fillet starter - £11.75
- Ai Frutti di Mare - £15.75
- Ravioli Branzino - £14.25
- Zucchini fritti - £4.25
- Tiramisu x 2 - £11.90 (£5.95 each)
Total (plus optional service charge): £77.72
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