Bruno leads a Roman Conquest
| Published: 29th November 2008 14:34 |
Passion for Italian food wins customers
Mervyn Hancock meets an Italian restaurant owner whose passion for genuine Italian food had won customers for an overlooked part of a West Country town...Taunton
Bruno Palpini is passionate about Italian food. How do I know? Quite simple really, he took the trouble to leave the kitchen of the Ciao Roma, Italian restaurant in Taunton to tell me.
I am pretty sure that if I had not liked his spaghetti bolognese, I would have ended up with a pan over my head. But don't worry Bruno, old chap, I can tell you - hand on heart - the meal you presented us with was the best I have tasted in a long time, and my daughter Sharon has been raving about your risotto all week.
In fact, both of us feel pretty pleased with cooks and serves authentic Italian food - especially as it was by accident.
I was heading for the Tudor Tavern in Taunton, where I spent many a happy hour in my younger days. But the place was closed down, along with many other fine eating houses in the East Reach part of town. The dining room across the road from Tudor had been turned into something else, and the fine old hotel up the road was now a waterstones.
I was already in one of my grumpy moods because a parking machine had gobbled up 50p without telling me, until I digested my cash, that I had to clear off within 30 minutes or be fined.
And then I found another pub converted into a emporium of slot machines. I ask you: Whatever is the world coming up to?
To be honest with you, Ciao Roma didn't look too hopeful from the outside on a dull Tuesday afternoon. Sharon and I looked through the window and saw it was quite empty but we were hungry, and the sign did declare it open for business.
I am pretty sure Bruno had given up hope of any custom for that day, and he had to be summoned on the telephone by his waiter to come and fire up the oven. But like a good Italian opera, as soon as the curtain went up the action started.
The very pleasant (authentic) Italian waiter produced an excellent bottle of Chianti to tune up our taste buds for a gastronomic programme promising classic meals of fish, meat and pasta.
No sooner had we opted for the homemade minestrone soup, than Bruno swept through the door, donned his apron, and promised us that his food really was just like his mama used to make. The soup arrived - full of fresh vegetables and accompanied by a crispy, pizza-sized garlic bread smothered in cheese and tasting delicious.
We told the waiter we were short of time and he obliged by delivering our spaghetti bolognese and risotto as soon as our starter had been demolished.
Both Sharon's fiance, Stewart - you know, the one with the big appetite - and my wife Sue were at work and as the meal progressed we were both cackling like naughty, truant schoolchildren. This was a quality of food you rarely encounter, and the thought of our other halves tackling their baked beans on toast filled us with wicked delight. Like Jack Sprat and his wife, we both licked the platters clean, declaring that not another morsel could be managed by either of us.
Well, er that was until Bruno announced his speciality sweet for the day was homemade tiramisu. Forget the gladiators and emperors, this was what the Roman Empire was really built on. Light, fluffy, just the right amount of chocolate dusting on top, and the taste - oh boy, what a taste.
Bruno's determination and love of cooking has turned Ciao Roma into a popular
Italian restaurant. Bookings are required at the weekend.
I was tempted to demand an encore but bruno was about to sweep out of the door - the maestro was off to finish what he was doing when we interrupted im to prepare our lunch. I simply had to congratulate him - and was rewarded with the history of his family, his passion for cooking , and his determination to give the people of Somerset the best Italian food in Britain.
Apparently it has not been easy to establish Ciao Roma, Bruno told us of his determinaion to steer away from any image of the fast food, rowdy customers, and Italian food that, well, just isn't Italian. "We have been here for two-and-a-half years, and we followed some spanish people who had been trying to cook Italian food." he told us.
"I am passionate about cooking. I almost put a board outside telling anyone who doesn't want homemade food to stay away. On my opening night there were 35 people waiting outside and only 15 got in. We want people who love good food in an authentic atmosphere.
"Now, if people want to get a table at the weekend they have to book because we are very popular. We are putting this part of town back on the map."
I was still tasting and enjoying that meals for hours afterwards. They say that when in Rome, do as the Romans do - the same rule applies in Bruno's place, and what a little gem it is.
View Bruno's tasty menu on his website - www.ciao-roma.co.uk
Bookings - Tel: 01823 353127 
Opening times :
Monday - Friday 6pm - 10pm
Saturday : 12noon - 2pm and 6pm - 10pm
Sunday : Closed
(However we are able to open for bookings for more than six people or more on Sunday or any lunchtime.)
Ciao Roma - Italian Restaurant
4 Eastgate
Taunton
Somerset
TA1 3NB
Sourced: Western Daily Press, supplement - West Country Life, Editor Mervyn Hancock
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