Caffè Bacco

Review

Viva il loss of control!

Photo: Heribert Corn Al Bacco at Margaretenstraße 36 is one of these places. It was actually a wine shop where Alberto Stefanelli sold his fine reds until a party was held there seven or eight years ago and the idea was born to turn the wine shop into a small restaurant. With a few tables with checkered tablecloths and a series of infinitely simple, but heartily cooked and therefore authentic Italian dishes, topped with truffles in winter. Al Bacco at Margaretenstraße 36 was and is a place of unbridled cordiality, and it was unlikely that things would go well with the neighbors for long. Specifically, one resident made life difficult for Alberto Stefanelli, which is why he took over an alternative restaurant on the opposite side of the street, giving it brick walls, old wooden furniture, a bar, wrought iron railings and lantern lamps - admittedly not quite as charming as the Al Bacco on the other side of the street, "but with fewer problems". And "fewer problems" is good, because problems are definitely not what you need when you go to eat at Alberto Stefanelli. You have to be able to let go here, there's no menu and there are wine coolers at the table, so you're expected to manage a bottle for two. And Alberto Stefanelli himself tells you what's on the menu, namely something like "I got beautiful porcini mushrooms today, let's make them with Parmesan, and then asparagus and then pasta and then meat ...". So it's not either or, it's what's served, period. And then come the wafer-thinly sliced porcini mushrooms with wafer-thinly shaved Parmesan and finely chopped basil, all generously doused with olive oil by Alberto Stefanelli and mixed together at the table to make a wonderful salad.
And then comes the asparagus, two thick, green spears with a soft fried yolk and a Parmesan-olive oil conglomerate, simple and good, although Stefanelli says that it is actually "not my cultura" to serve just two spears of asparagus, but thank you for doing it anyway.
In between, a piece of parmigiana, this ingenious combination of eggplant, parmesan and tomatoes, then ravioli with ricotta filling, orange and lemon zest and a light orange and lemon sauce, you can feel Sorrento. And then a little spezzatino, veal stew with celery and tomatoes, you cry. And because dessert is a must, but you can't have any more, just wild strawberries in panna. Incidentally, you pay as much for a meal like this at Café Bacco as you would for a piece of fried fish at a high-end Italian restaurant in the city, 35 euros, "but that's not my cultura!" says Alberto Stefanelli. To sum up: Italy is a wonderful country and with Alberto Stefanelli it has a worthy ambassador in this city. Café Bacco 4th, Margaretenstr. 25/4 Tel. 01/585 66 92 Mon-Fri 1pm-2pm

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