Culurgiones @ La Famiglia
12 Stanley St, Liverpool, L1 6AF
As evidenced by the the well-thumbed copies of Corriere dello Sport hanging from wooden newspaper sticks next to the bar, Sardinian restaurant La Famiglia on Stanley Street is a popular spot with Liverpool’s Italian expat community (something it has in common with nearby Sicilian canteen Cose Buone).
Many stop in for a coffee, some antipasti or to visit the restaurant’s small deli section to stock up on cartons of burratina or fat brown bottles of Ichnusa Non Filtrata — the golden, malty lager fast outpacing Gianfranco Zola as Sardinia’s most famous and beloved export.
You certainly don’t have to hail from the boot to feel the warmth of the welcome here, though. Speak to anyone who’s visited and the first thing they’ll tell you is how friendly everyone at La Famiglia is. They’ve won awards for it.
But what about the food? They’ve won awards for that too, as it happens. And deservedly so.
The menu at La Famiglia features plenty of red-check-tablecloth favourites — lasagne; bruschetta pomodoro; calamari fritti — alongside Sardinian, and Sardinian-inflected, dishes — fregola with scallops and mussels; lamb cutlets with carrot and olives; caserecce all’arrabbiata with salsiccia sarda.
As is often the case, the really good stuff is to be found on the specials board. The selection on offer varies, of course, but almost always a feature are the culurgiones — boiled dumplings filled with potato, mint and sharp pecorino cheese.
Sometimes known as Sardinian ravioli, with their plaited skin they more closely resemble gyoza but have a pillowy texture somewhere between a Chinese steamed bun and pierogi ruskie. The parcels are served on a simple, bright tomato sauce and dressed with sweet, citrussy basil oil.
After eating a plate of potato-stuffed pasta it might be a struggle to fit in anything else, but you really should try the caffe crema — fresh-made espresso whipped with sweet cream and served with almond cantuccini. And maybe you could have a small glass of Amaro Montenegro, with a couple of ice cubes. Why not, you’re with family now.
