Sotto Sotto, Bath

I have to admit 'Trip Advisor' has become somewhat of a necessity for me when I decide to visit a new city nowadays, and whilst I appreciate this online search tool leaves some of the best restaurants and bars in certain locations (quite rightfully) 'hidden', I must say I have had some of my favourite meals at places recommended to me by avid online reviewers. 'Sotto Sotto' in Bath is one of those places.

I was looking for a restaurant in Bath to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday, so despite wanting excellent food I didn't want anything too fussy, and Sotto Sotto took no finding at all being number one on the review website for the city. It looked perfect, people were raving about the authenticity of the food, the friendliness of the staff, and the quirkiness of the underground cellar that the restaurant was situated in, so I knew I must book - and I was right in doing so. Despite being a freezing November evening, the Christmas market (which is phenomenal in itself) was on so I knew it would be busy, and rang at least a month prior to secure our table.

Outside of the Restaurant (entrance downstairs)

The restaurant is extremely central which is absolutely perfect if you're looking for a place not too far from the Roman Baths or cathedral, and very easy to find - in fact we kind of just landed upon the sign (see above) by accident! The entrance, as was mentioned previously, is down some steps and as you enter the rather inconspicuous door at the bottom you are greeted with smiles from all directions. The staff are wonderful, you can really tell that all of the people love to work there, and it has that very home-reared feel, in a very up-market setting - something I think must be a very difficult balance to achieve.

Although arriving some 30 minutes early, we were asked whether we would prefer a cocktail in the bar area or to go straight to our table and order food - to which we quickly replied the latter - we were cold, and starving, and the food smelt wonderful! So we were shown by the waiter through a rather dramatic corridor and arrived at our table within the spectacular dining room. The photo below doesn't really do it justice, they had the ambiance and lighting absolutely perfect, and it really was unique!

The dining room

The menu has a very authentic Italian feel, with plenty of choice. For starter I opted for the mushrooms and goats cheese with a balsamic glaze. I don't usually opt for the vegetarian option, but i'm a total sucker for goats cheese so it had to be done - and my boyfriend ordered the calamari so I thought I could pinch a few of his!

Mushroom with Goats cheese and Balamic

The portion sizes were really huge, and I can speak for all of the table when I say the food was outstanding. My mushroom had a slightly charred taste which complimented the creamy cheese and sweet tangy balsamic very well. The 'token' lettuce leaves, although sometimes unnecessary on a starter I feel, added a crunch to the dish alongside another favourite of mine - a scattering of pine nuts!Calamari was perfectly cooked, no chewiness in sight, and had a very light batter which is so important I feel with such delicate flavours. All in all, if the mains and desserts followed suit I knew we would be in for a fantasic evening!

Throughout the evening we decided we would try and work our way down the cocktail list instead of ordering the conventional bottle of wine! I think I tried 4 different ones, including a 'long island iced tea' (tangy and strong - just how it should be) and their creamy 'toblerone' inspired creation which was a dessert in itself! At a fiver each you really couldn't go wrong, and after our meal, instead of finding a bar in bath we decided to retreat to their bar and finish our evening there (more about that later)!

Swordfish Steak with roasted vegetables

All of the cocktails were really wetting our appetite for our mains, so when they arrived we dug in pretty swiftly. I ordered the swordfish steak (after working in a fish restaurant for 3 years in Oxford I know how easy it can be to make swordfish dry) and this was far from it. In my opinion swordfish should be pink in the middle, hardly cooked in fact, and charred on the outside, and this was done to perfection. The peppers were a nice addition to the dish, but I felt they were quite oily, however not enough for me not to gobble them all up in one fell swoop. I also tried some of my partners Osso Bucco which was so rich and meaty I had to go in for a second try (just to make sure it was 'fine' of course!!) and, as expected, neither dishes disappointed.
Worth a mention is asking the waiters for recommendations of side dishes...if I remember rightly we ordered a side of potatoes as mine did not come with any, however I think some options do, so it's definitely worth asking if they are necessary!

Finally it came to ordering the dessert. Now...the dish that the restaurant is known for is their lemon and white chocolate profiteroles. However due to a very bad episode of me devouring far too many when I was a child and being violently ill, I had been put off trying them again ever since.
On the advice of the waiter, and the persuasion of my table I bit the bullet and decided to give them a go.

White Chocolate and Limoncello Profiteroles

I didn't regert it. The picture doesn't show their size very well but they were really much smaller than I imagined, and, as the saying goes, perfectly formed. The pastry was sweet and light, crunchy on the outside and squishy in the centre. The inside was filled with lemony cream and was suited perfectly to the seriously sweet white chocolate sauce drizzled over the top. I polished off the lot rather quickly, and I have to say I think facing my fears has cured me...as long as all profiteroles taste like these ones did!


As I mentioned earlier on in the review, after completing our meals we had a long chat to the waiter and he suggested we go into the bar and speak to the cocktail man who'd be happy to make cocktails on request if we had one in mind, so we took him up on the offer and settled down for a couple more hours! This is where the staff really came into their own in my opinion, the bar staff were joking and laughing like brothers, and one of the waiters even made a rose for myself and a friend of ours out of a paper napkin - italian charm you see!

The meal at Sotto Sotto was excellent and I would whole-heartedly recommend a booking there for anyone visiting the stunning roman city of Bath, even if it's just for a cocktail and a chat to the staff, you definitely would not regret popping in!