OPERA osteria

Throw in some opera every Friday night, performed up close by Italian professionals – of course – and a cosy little osteria (informal Italian restaurant) becomes a flavour of Naples that you wouldn’t expect from its unassuming little shop front along Borough High Street.

Opera and Naples have a very long standing relationship. In fact, the Teatro di San Carlo is one of the oldest and continuously active opera venues in the world, having opened in 1737 – decades before La Scala in Milan and La Fenice in Venice. For almost a century Naples was very much the world’s capital of music, and the best international composers set their sights on being performed there; the way they might target London, Sydney or New York today.

Impressive the musical history of Naples may be, it is a comparatively short term relationship when compared to the love affair between Naples and its food. The roots of Neapolitan cuisine can be traced all the way back to the Greco-Roman period between 300BC and 400AD, to the culture and traditions of the Campania region, their dishes and their rural ingredients such as pasta, vegetables, cheese and seafood. Captured in time beneath the volcanic dust of Pompeii spectacular mosaics reveal a sophisticated passion for food.

Although pasta and tomatoes were later additions to Neapolitan cuisine, the area is now famous for the high grade of pasta from Gragnano made from durum wheat and peeled, chopped or concentrated tomato products which are now exported all over the world.

Ciro Costagliola comes from this great tradition of food. Having had a prolific catering background in Naples he arrived in London bringing with him a passion and taste for beautiful food and magnificent music. By day Flavours of Naples is a busy gastro-delicatessen serving sandwiches and coffees. By night though it becomes a cosy Italian eatery serving classically authentic Neapolitan food and wine. Come Friday night there is an explosion, a celebration of opera with guest singers wandering between the tables entertaining the diners and bringing even more sensory delights to the evening.

The evening menu changes every day, based on the best available ingredients to the chefs. Like all true osterias the quality and prices are fabulous, for example Bruschetta starters are priced at £6 and breadcrumbed Dover Sole with vegetables at £18. Some other Specials served alongside the dulcet operatic tones have included mouthwatering venison, free range roast kid goat, Tuscan t-bone steak and swordfish carpaccio. Along with these, a fabulous array of desserts and cakes are expertly crafted by the hands of the skilled kitchen team.

Being a deli by day ensures that the nearby workers can grab a delicious lunch or buy some quality ingredients to take back home, but that is only a small part of what makes this place so unique. Although it may not be so obvious to the average passer-by, there is a fantastic story going on inside Flavours of Naples. To be a part of the story, make sure to visit on a Friday night – it is truly a one-of-a-kind experience in Borough – just make sure to reserve your seat ahead of time!

FLAVOURS OF NAPLES
299 Borough High Street
Southwark
SE1 1JG
t: 020 7407 5454
w: www.flavoursofnaples.com

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