Angelo’s On Station Hill

Finally, a reason to be happy about our town's dining scene with the opening of Angelo's at Station Hill.

Angelo Colao is a fixture in the local restaurant trade having run many Italian restaurants in Reading and Wokingham, the most prominent being Ruschetta on Rose St which recently rebranded as Angelo's.

Now a new branch of the eponymous eatery has finally opened in Reading after many months of planning and preparation.

On a Friday lunchtime I met my wife off the London train and decided to pop in for lunch at the new Station Hill site. I already had a lunch date set here with another Ruschetta fan, G, but I couldn't help jumping the gun.

The eponymous owner greeted us like old friends at the front door - which, indeed we are, having spent every important birthday, Christmas Eve and celebrations at Ruschetta. 

The room is small and a bit awkward with a traditional seating area containing around twenty covers at the back and a bar stool area at the front.

There are also plenty of seats outside, but the location is hot on a summer day and can be very windy at other times of the year. Reading really needs more al fresco dining and with some work this may become a good spot, facing south east so shaded in the afternoon and evenings. It was warm but windy so we decided to sit indoors.  On my return visit, with temperatures hitting 34C and the sun beating down, we also opted for the inside. 

The outside is certainly work in progress and needs some thinking through. Planters and umbrellas at the very least. Reading needs more al fresco dining options like those found at Carluccio's and Vini Vita.

I'm also not sure whether this zoning doesn't demand different menus, although I guess you can make this work however you want as a punter by selecting from the carefully curated menu.

We were recently turned away from a Zizzi's in London because we just asked for drinks at 4pm on a Saturday afternoon, but popping in for a drink and a plate of zucchini fritti should be a decent option for an after work drink (if that's still a thing at all these days).

But let's get onto the important stuff.

The menu is thankfully short, and does not feature pizzas or burgers you will be glad to hear.

Instead there are all the best Italian classics, some with a twist.

My wife had the deep fried zucchini or courgettes. Unusually they were cut in the round and lightly battered with perfect seasoning and a mayo dip. As it turns out this is a better idea than matchsticked courgettes providing more flavour from the vegetable and less batter, which was tempura light. I may just have helped her clear her plate in ultra quick time.

My carpaccio was also spot on - just the right thickness with rocket and excellent parmesan shaved on top. I couldn't fault it, apart from perhaps the lack of a slice of lemon, but that might be my personal quirk.

On my return visit G and I shared the zucchini again (an immediate local classic) and the goat's cheese which could have done with a tad more fig jam and perhaps more bread. The portion of cheese was very generous.

For mains I had the hake, pearlescent and flaky with a light breadcrumb on top on a bed of cooked spinach surrounded by the sweetest baby tomatoes. 

The fries I ordered on the side were fat and crunchy and could not be faulted.

When I went back with G he had the cacio e pepe risotto - a dish usually served with pasta, but the reinvention is a touch of genius with parmesan and truffles enhancing the flavour.

I had the black fettuccine with seafood which was just perfect. I have a weakness for black squid pasta since spending a lot of time in Croatia in the 90s where it is considered a national dish. The tomato sauce was deep and clung to the pasta strands and the seafood was very generous - prawn, calamari and coquille scallops.

On both visits the pasta dishes were so large that they provided me with an additional meal via a doggie bag. 

However G finished his risotto and had to fend for himself over supper I suspect.

At Angelo's you will find great ingredients, simply cooked. It is what Italian food is all about.

My wife tried the measure of any Italian restaurant - spaghetti carbonara. This was almost literally chalk and cheese in comparison to the dreadful dish my colleague Phil had in Cozze the previous week.

Perfectly cooked pasta, just al dente, wrapped in eggy sauce with the hint of cheese and fatty guanciale. The portion was generous. Even after I had stolen a a few wrapped forkfuls there was enough to take home for dinner.

We were too full for dessert. With a bottle of San Pellegrino and a large glass of Gavi di Gavi - my father-in-law's favourite wine and fifteen years to the day since he passed away. He and my mother-in-law would have loved Angelo's. 

Starters are around a tenner, pasta dishes under twenty and my hake was £24.  Not cheap, but keenly priced against the chain restaurants.

The bill with my wife totalled £87 without service. On my revisit we worked our way through a bottle of excellent rosé and paid sixty quid a head by the time we added service, which extrordinarily is not charged by default.

Not cheap, but you could just have a pasta and a coffee and get away with a very reasonable bill. These days that counts as value for money. But I do think they will need to offer a prix fixe lunchtime menu to attract those no longer allowed to WFH, who will then return of an evening with their partner or friends.

I should add that all main wines are offered by the small glass, large glass, carafe and bottle. So, drink what you can afford or just blow out! Clever.

The staff, some of whom we recognised from the Wokingham restaurant, were charming, friendly and efficient on both visits.

There is a reason why Angelo is one of the area's most successful restauranteurs and I, for one, am delighted that he has opened in Reading and he deserves all the support you can give him. 

A few weeks after opening, Angelo's is already one of the best restaurants in town and I hope it will go from strength to strength.