New: Vincenzo’s Osteria in The Hague
Vincenzo’s was already known for their delicious pizzas, but pasta is also an essential Italian need, isn’t it? So they transformed their fish restaurant, De Groene Parel, into the pasta spot Vincenzo’s Osteria. I stopped by during the press event, and oh my, everything was so delicious.
Although De Groene Parel did well on weekends, it was much quieter during the week. So the owners decided to focus entirely on Italian cuisine and transformed the restaurant into a pasta paradise.
Signature dishes
During the press event, we got to try the dishes the owners consider their signature dishes. These are oysters, homemade pasta stirred through a large block of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and homemade tiramisu with a glass of limoncello made by Vincenzo’s mother. How Italian can you get?!
Oysters
For regular visitors, things may be different, but at first there was no sitting down and eating here. We were put to work: opening our own oysters. Tea towel, oyster, knife, cut here, be careful not to stab the person next to you, and give it a try. After quite a bit of fiddling—okay, and a little help from the chef—we succeeded. Pour over cucumber-lime or peach-ginger vinaigrette, and slurp away.
At the table
In the starters, we tasted the modern twist Vincenzo’s Osteria adds to its classic Italian dishes. The burrata isn’t served with tomato, but with a smear of carrot cream, cucumber and watercress. The beef tenderloin carpaccio is served with yellow beetroot, horseradish and macadamia nuts. And the fish carpaccio comes with blood orange and fennel.
Then came the real deal: the Italian chef wheeled a cart with a large block of Parmigiano Reggiano right in front of us and tossed freshly made pasta through it. Before serving, a layer of black truffle was grated over the top. If you’re as much of a cheese-pasta-truffle lover as I am, this is definitely worth trying. We finished with a ‘deconstructed’ homemade tiramisu and a glass of limoncello from—like I said—Vincenzo’s mother. So delicious!
One slight shame: not all pasta varieties are made from homemade pasta dough yet. According to Vincenzo, this isn’t possible yet because it’s so labor-intensive, but the goal is to eventually do so. In addition to the signature dishes, there are of course plenty of other delicious options: antipasti, polenta fries with Taleggio sauce, scroppino and many more types of pasta. The pastas can also be ordered in small portions, so you can try several varieties in one evening. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday from 5:00 to 11:00 p.m.
Tasmanstraat 129
The Hague
