I like a good story and I adore good Italian food so if you put the two together you should have all the ingredients for a successful business, which Valentina is hoping for with its latest venture on Chiswick High Road – an area which has gained something of a reputation as a haven for discerning foodies.
Valentina's first venture as a restaurant and delicatessen was in East Sheen in 1991 with the Zoccola and Arcari families at the helm. They hail from Saint Ella Fiumerapido, a small village near Monte Cassino, southeast of Rome, where they have farmed the land for generations. Each year they return home to harvest the olives from the family grove for their own-label olive oil, sold in the delicatessens, and source other fresh ingredients from the native soil.
The story gets better as the name Valentina, is shared with the daughter of one of the founding families and over the years the business concept has expanded with the opening of the Chiswick location taking the number of outlets to seven - Putney and Notting Hill are other west London destinations. Today the team is spearheaded by third generation family members who all work across the various businesses.
Chiswick opened its doors last month and you enter from the street through the extensive delicatessen, stocked with authentic and tempting goodies and wines, which is the lifeblood of the business, and then into the separate dining area which is comfortable and sleek in design. There are smart earthy coloured banquettes, dark wooden tables and chairs with a gleaming red Moto Guzzi, suspended from one wall, catching the eye alongside pictures of the family's home village and bottles of wine set in attractive glass cases.
So I told you it was a good story, but what about the food on the authentic menu based around South Italian cuisine. Fiona started with the Fritto Misto (£6.95) – a bowl of light well cooked and seasoned deep fried calamari in a delicate batter, fried corquettes and a juicy king prawn making for a tasty way to start the evening.
My plate may have resembled something akin to a prawn graveyard at the end of my starter but that was because the large succulent pan fried tiger prawns cooked with chilli and olive oil (£7.25) were a joy to the palette. They came with some of the best tasting sliced avocado I have enjoyed in a long time, enhanced with a good dressing and rocket.
For mains I enjoyed perfect pink calves liver (£14.50) which sat on a delicious red wine and artichoke risotto, perfectly cooked with some bite, and topped with crispy dense pancetta bacon making for a robust combination of flavours on the plate.
Fiona went for a special of tagliattela with a white duck ragu and mascarpone cheese (£13.95) which it did not disappoint. The duck, which in this case is cooked with milk rather than the more common red wine, was exceptionally flavoursome and well seasoned and all the components came together for a good authentic dish.
Wines play a big part of Valentina's concept and we enjoyed two good choices from the Tuscany region, a fresh white with bursts of citrus and light fruits, Rocca Di Montemassi Vermentino Toscana, and a rich and velvety vibrant red Castello D'Albola Chianti Classico Toscana, £8.95 each for a large glass.
We finished off by sharing always a favourite of mine Affogato (£4.95), a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a shot of espresso poured over, and jolly decent it was too. Service was highly efficient and friendly with the dishes well paced and Fabio, one of the family cousins, offering useful recommendations on the wine and food.
I will forgive the flashing Christmas lights draped around the restaurant area, even if it was still early November, partly because they were reasonably tasteful but more importantly because the food and wine served up was top notch at the newest member of the Valentina family.
