"I'm going to Tony's! What does everyone want?"
This was the call to action in my family home most Saturdays since 1991. Dad would make a weekly trip to visit Buongiorno Italia in St Albans and bring back a plethora of antipasti, fresh fruit and vegetables, and a hellavalot of olive oil and wine* for us to feast on for the week ahead. *Worth noting here that I didn't partake in the 'wine' aspect of this haul until I was at least 15!
Buongiorno Italia is owned -on its current site- by Tony Picciuto who inherited the family business from his parents in 1991. Tony prides his establishment on sourcing the finest Italian produce and also offers homemade fresh pasta, sandwiches, arancini, bakes, cakes and pastries.
After moving back to Hertfordshire from living in London for over almost 10 years, having Buongiorno Italia 'round the corner' was a great thing. I hoped it was as good as I remembered. So I toddled off to St Albans last week and got a bit carried away. My excuse is that #1 I'm generously and selflessly tasting everything so I can give it a fair review and #2 I did the stupid thing of shopping when hungry. So I came away £50 poorer but the proud owner of: 1 litre Italian olive oil, a box of pane carasau, fresh ciabatta, mortadella, mozzarella, fresh ricotta, stuffed sweet peppers, olives, fresh datterini tomatoes, fresh rocket, mortadella & pistachio arancini (!!!), and to polish it off......some sfogliatelle. Ooops.
The selection at Tony's is astounding, I'm surprised that I only came away with that selection. The homemade tiramisu looked incredible, as did the other arancini. there's a huge selection of cured meats and salamis, cosied up in the counter next to cheese from all over Europe. The wine selection is modest but expertly curated, offering something for everyone. What was wonderful is that all the staff there clearly know everything about all the products and love what they do, as i heard all of them recommending and chit chatting to every customer. I got served by the ever charming Tony -which is why I ended up with the arancini because I was told I "must try" them. I don't need telling twice. He also chatted to me about my parents who he knows and remembers. That's the touch of great service; where the proprietor knows his customers by name and even remembers what they buy!
I got home and created a glorious antipasti platter to share with J and the in laws (our childcare bubble) alongside some London Honey Company honey to drizzle on the ricotta cheese. The quality of everything we got -without exception- was incredible. I could have closed my eyes and been in Italy. The mozzarella was creamy and fresh, the ricotta was light and milky, the tomatoes were phenomenally sweet and perfectly ripe, the mortadella was sliced wafer thin and melted in the mouth leaving salty, sweet, umami lingering notes, and the arancini was......well, Tony was right; they were OUTSTANDING. The rice was al dente, the polenta crust was crisp even when eaten cold. the mortadella and pistachio inside was generous (especially for £2.95) and the entire product ate so well. The only issue was that I didn't buy more.
Buongiorno Italia offer olive oil decanted freshly for you. In non-covid times you can bring back the glass bottle for a refill each time, but currently it's sold in pre-packed bottles. The olive oil is peppery, fresh and green. It's expertly sourced and such a change from some of the bland oils you get in the supermarket. At £12.95 for a litre, it is pricey, but this is a dipping oil, not a cooking oil. So in my mind, it's worth it for that sublime flavour that awakens any bread and turns it into an indulgent treat. I dipped most of the fluffy fresh, ciabatta into the oil and was insanely happy!
Sfogliatelle are lobster tail-shaped pastries (sometimes called 'aragostine'), made from layers and layers of crisp pastry, and filled with cream of different flavours; chocolate hazelnut, pistachio and lemon are the most common. We worked our way through some lemon ones and some chocolate hazelnut ones. They were crisp to perfection and the filling was not overly sweet. Perfect with a cup of coffee!
None of this is cheap though and that is to be expected. Almost everything is imported and Brexit can't be helping matters. But consider it a treat, like a holiday... And holidays abroad are tough at the minute. So if you can't get to Italy, let Tony and Buongiorno Italia bring Italy to you. Close your eyes and you can almost hear a vespa fly past.
Service:
Insanely friendly, helpful and familiar. I feel like one of the family already!
Quality:
Wonderful quality of all the products we tried, whether that was imported oils, homemade arancini, fresh vegetables or sourced antipasti, cheese and charcuterie.
Value & Price:
On the pricey side, but worth it for sure as it's nearly all imported. The quality and wonderland of Italian delicacies make this an Aladdin's cave of gastronomic treats worth its weight in gold.
Overall:
OUTSTANDING- Nuff said. I'm so happy this place is as good as I remember and hopefully one day my kids will remember my weekly trip to see Tony too!
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