Dinner At Il Lupo Ristorante Italiano in Baslow
Published On Sunday 19 Dec 2021 by Sticky Beak
See Recent Dining Out Reviews | See All Recent Reviews
Mummy Bird, me and The Man had had a wonderful 2 day break in Chester and weren’t quite ready to relinquish that chilled state of mind, so there was only one answer: find somewhere on the way home to have dinner! We’ve been meaning to visit Il Lupo at Baslow for a while, so this was the perfect excuse – not that we need an excuse to eat Italian food.
Il Lupo is located in a lovely old building, full of charm and quirky features, and the team have decorated it beautifully to accentuate its rustic charms. Mummy Bird loved the wine bottle and glass art on the wall, fashioned from wire and allowed to ‘wear’ naturally. We were greeted warmly and shown to our table, where the lovely gent handed us the menu and wine list and gave us a few minutes to look over them.
We decided to order a bottle of Pinot Grigio; it’s Mummys fave and His Nibs fancied joining us for a glass, so we ordered that and some water for the table whilst we inspected the food offerings further before finalising our choices. Having stuffed ourselves the evening before at Chez Jules in Chester, we weren’t in the market for a full-on 3 course dinner so skipped the starters.
Il Lupo do a great range of pizzas and al forno dishes, but it was the good old pasta varieties that won the race for us: I ordered Black Squid Ink Ravioli (£15.95), his Nibs opted for Penne (£13.50) and Mummy Bird had Tagliatelle (£13.95). As you would expect, there was a little wait whilst our food was being cooked freshly for us, but we didn’t have too long to go until the steaming dishes were being placed in front of us. Both Mummy Bird and The Man had grated Parmesan sprinkled over their choices at the table, but the gentleman advised that my dish might get overwhelmed by the cheese’s pungency so I took his advice and abstained.
All of us commented on the generous portion size of our dishes as we eagerly tucked into them, unleashing further tendrils of steam as we did so. My inky toned Ravioli were nicely filled with a Scallop and Chive mixture that was lovely and soft to the bite, with a curiously sweet, gently oniony taste to it. I really enjoyed the accompanying sauce; there was a pleasant sharpness to it courtesy of Garlic and White wine, balanced by sweet Cherry Tomatoes and fruity extra virgin Olive oil. Masses of plump, juicy King Prawns kept the party going, ably assisted by baby Octopus and shell-on Cockles and Mussels. This was a wonderfully tasty dish, full of texture and layers of flavour and the Ravioli parcels were cooked perfectly.
Next to me, Mummy Bird was busy twirling the strands of Tagliatelle onto her fork, stabbing pieces of Salmon as she did so. The colour of her sauce was delicate blush pink, the result of Tomatoes, Parmesan and Cream being combined together and then enhanced by the addition of Garlic, Onion and the bright, Basil-laden tones of Pesto. Some dishes just take you to the sunnier climes of the Med, don’t they?; well this was one of them. Given the portion size, I half expected Mummy to struggle, but she stepped up to the plate and finished every single morsel on her plate!
His Nibs often cheats with longer-length pasta such as Tagliatelle and Spaghetti, cutting them into much smaller sizes, so it didn’t come as a shock when he chose Penne instead. These ribbed tubes are the perfect size for stabbing with a fork and popping into your mouth whole; they are also superb for letting sauces cling to them because of their uneven surface. Given how tasty the sauce was in this dish, this talent of the Penne was greatly appreciated by Mr Greedy Guts! A robust sauce of Onion, Garlic, Chilli, Pesto, tomato and Basil was certainly keeping His Nibs’ palate on high alert with the chunky pieces of Nduja Salami, Italian Sausage, Chicken and Chorizo joining in the flavour fiesta, as well as satisfying the appetite.
All the dishes had had nicely textural sauces to go with the smoother, softer pasta which gave a beautiful balance of stimulation for the senses; Chef clearly knows his craft at Il Lupo. Nothing had gone to waste at our table and the server smiled happily as he took a trio of clean plates back to the kitchen.
Mummy Bird was stuffed to the brim, but The Man and I were up for having dessert; as Meatloaf once sang, “two out of three ain’t bad”! Torta Rocher (£6.50) was the pick of The Man Bird, a mouth-watering minx of Chocolate, Vanilla and Praline mousse that is covered in a Gianduja topping for maximum moreishness. Indulgent isn’t the word; this goes way beyond that description! His Nibs was doing a pretty good ‘Sally’ impression; those of a certain age will get it, younger ones, go Google “THAT scene in ‘When Harry Met Sally’ film. All I can say is foodgasm a go-go!
I couldn’t decide between Torta Della Nonna (grandma’s custard pie, £6.50) and Torta Ricotta e Pera, also £6.50, an Italian cake originating in the Amalfi region. In the end I asked for some assistance from the lovely gentleman, not that it was particularly helpful as he said that they were both delicious. After a bit more deliberation I selected the Torta Ricotta e Pera, which was utterly sublime. The moist Hazelnut sponge cosseted a deep, creamy Ricotta filling (akin to a cheesecake) that itself contained a soft, succulent Pear compote whose fragrance was amazing in the mouth. For such an indulgent dessert, it was surprisingly light on the tummy; I’m sure it’s not going to be so forgiving on the waistline though, so best I get to the gym – Karen Hussey a.k.a Dominate Your Fitness, be kind, please! Karen also does nutrition, so she’s fab for tweaking foods and doesn’t believe in cutting anything out – even treats.
With our tummies as full as the boot of the jalopy with shopping bags, we paid the bill and headed back to Mummy’s nest to drop her off and then went back to our lovely nest. What a great few days we’d had, the finale of which was a very scrummy meal back in the ‘Shire. Hot Wings awarded to this super Baslow team.
| Dinner At The Rising Sun, Coltishall, Norfolk All good things must come to an end, they say and, sadly, The Man and I found ourselves on the last evening of our stay [and in the last restaurant] in Norfolk. Coltishall is only about 10 miles Read The Article | |
| Sunday Lunch At Wildes (formerly Van Dyk's) Near Clowne It's been ages since The Man and I last dined in the venue formerly known as Van Dyk's, now Wildes, at Clowne, and a lot has changed! For a start, the 'old building' Read The Article | |
| Sunday Lunch At Compamigos, Mercia Marina, Willington Blimey, can't you tell when the sun comes out?!! Mercia Marina in Willington and Compamigos (where we were heading for Sunday Lunch) were absolutely heaving Read The Article | |
| Dinner At The Shoulder Of Mutton, Strumpshaw, Norfolk Another evening, another venue to eat out at whilst we're away from the nest! As is our usual habit, we put feelers out for suggestions as to where to dine out in groups local Read The Article | |
| Trying Out The Tasting Menu At Maize Garden In Bolsover Friday night was looking a bit 'meh', not gonna lie, with the only thing planned being a takeaway and a glass of vino. Then, bam! Out of nowhere came an email asking if we'd like Read The Article | |
| Dinner At Zaks Mousehold Diner, Mousehold Heath, Norfolk Whenever we're away from home, His Nibs and I like to eat out where possible and, over the years, it's taken us to some pretty cool places; none quite as crazy as Zak's Authentic Read The Article | |
| Sunday Lunch and Wednesday Pie Night at The Three Horseshoes, Clay Cross Feeling rather thankful that we'd survived storm Eowyn, His Nibs called Mummy Bird to see if she fancied going out for Sunday Lunch Read The Article | |
| Dinner At The Recently Opened Dead Canary In Bakewell His Nibs and I were recently invited along to The Dead Canary in Bakewell to sample their evening menu. Now, the first reaction to the name, if you're like me, is eh?. Read The Article | |
| Back For Breakfast At The Edensor Tea Cottage, Edensor I'd love to tell you that when Bestie, TBW, Ginger Ninja, me and The Man get together that we show self-restraint when it comes to food; and I could tell you that, but you all know Read The Article | |
| Dinner And Stay At The Village Hotel In Maidstone Well, here we are; another week, another one away from home with The Man for his actual day job. This time, we found ourselves down in Kent: Maidstone, to be exact. His Nibs does Read The Article | |