James G.
Yelp
In Parma I think there is a sort of additional pressure on to have good meals, since you are, after all, in one of the great gastronomic cities in one of the world's great gastronomic cities, so if you're an appreciator of good food, you'd hate to miss an opportunity to enjoy it.
After having a really excellent meal on our first night in Parma, we didn't want to go wrong on our second (and last) night, and found ourselves here. The welcome was warm and we found lots on the menu that tempted us, though we were wary of over-ordering. In the end, the two of us opted to share an antipasto of an artichoke budino with cooked shoulder ham, and a primo of gnocchi with herbs and a carrot purée, followed by a secondo for each of us (roasted pork culatello with potatoes, and horse tartare). But then we were tempted by the torta fritta, little pillows of fried dough that looked like a nice additional item. And of course we ordered a bottle of local red wine. And a bottle of water. For our would-be light dinner...
No sooner than had we placed our order than a waiter arrived with a little dried salami that we thought was being delivered to us in error. Nope, it's a gift from the house that everyone received. A relatively fresh salami, it was still soft and bright-flavoured, and was a nice treat. Then the torta, gnocchi and budino arrived all at once, and we saw that the portions are huge. We really could have been quite happy with just one of these, rather than all three, but they were all so good that we finished them all (well, not the torta, though we did put a good dent in them).
For as big as the starters looked, they paled in comparison with the mains, which were huge, and thus daunting for us, but we did as well as we could to do them justice, since they, too, were excellent.
If you're looking for a chance to enjoy some local dishes in a friendly atmosphere, this is a good option.