Situated in one of Abu Dhabi’s oldest hotels, Pappagallo has been serving up Italian dishes to customers for many years. The interior of the restaurant is surprisingly elegant, although most people choose to dine in the garden which is a less glamorous but still very pleasant setting. The bread basket we were given on arrival was accompanied by three dipping sauces; olive, tomato and a pesto tapenade.
All three were great, and it is very tempting to fill up on bread before actually placing an order.
Nevertheless, we settled on a pizza (bizarrely recommended by the waiter) and salad for our starters.
Be warned, the pizzas are large and easily enough for a main or a starter for three or more. Garnished with fresh vegetables, the pizza was served fresh out of the oven and we ate more of it than we intended to.
The caprese salad was excellent, with a hefty portion of very fresh tomatoes and a delicious chunk of buffalo mozzarella cheese – this dish was wiped out in very little time.
After much deliberation, we ordered our mains: spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clams and olive oil sauce) and a picatta di vitel (veal and vegetables). The spaghetti was full of clams but doused in way too much olive oil. There was also a very generous sprinkling of parmesan cheese, which made the dish very heavy. After about five bites, we had to give up. The veal, on the other hand, seemed like a much better choice.
The portion was very generous and it was served with a hefty side of freshly grilled vegetables. This dish is great for the health conscious and the serving was so large it could stand as a complete meal on its own.
We opted for sharing a tiramisu for dessert, which was served promptly and in a large cup. The tiramisu looked all cream from the outside, but once we dug our spoons into it, we were pleased to find a very substantial slab of sponge cake as well. Having tried various tiramisus around town, we definitely rate Pappagallo’s as one of the best and, despite being full, we couldn’t help finishing it.
When the manager came around to ask about the food, we mentioned that the clam spaghetti had too much sauce. He gave heartfelt apologies and went so far as to inform the chef.
He then proceeded to deduct the dessert from the bill. This kind of customer service is undoubtedly one of the reasons why this venue never seems to have a slow day. Although whenever the menu changes, it seems to take the chefs some time to perfect the dishes, as we experienced, the management is open to suggestions and takes excellent care of its customers. This is definitely a great place for reasonably priced pizza and meat, although we suggest you take the manager’s suggestions when it comes to ordering the pasta.
The bill (for two)
Caprese salad Dhs58
Tuscana pizza Dhs62
Spaghetti alle vongole Dhs70
Picatta di vitel Dhs125
Total (excluding service) Dhs315
