When the popular Harrogate Italian restaurant Lucia closed, reopening as Divino, the leading question was always going to be whether the food, service and ambience were going to be as good as before.
The only way to find out was to schedule in a visit to what was one of the better Italian restaurants in the North Yorkshire town. First impressions were good: the inside looks virtually untouched from before. The restaurant always had a homely feel and you can understand why they haven’t tried to fix something that wasn’t broken in the first place.
A good start
With a good selection of breads and Antipasti to choose from, it was the sharing platter of Antipasto alla that caught our attention. An array of the finest Italian cured meats (Parma ham, coppa, salami Milano and Mortadella with pistachio) with fresh tomato and buffalo mozzarella, pickled vegetables, wild rocket, parmesan cheese and focaccia bread, were presented in a fine style. The ingredients looked as if they had come from your favourite Italian delicatessen.
If you wanted to skip your main and go instead for this indulgent starter, that would be fine, as there was plenty to feed two people.
Going with the dough at Divino
My partner chose the Divino pizza for her main. With tomato, fior di latte, Parma ham and rocket, plus parmesan shavings sprinkled liberally on top, the verdict was that the pizza was just as good and authentic as you would get in Italy. As I already had bread as part of my starter, it seemed reasonable to go for something dissimilar such as the lasagna al forno – a rich dish that came with soft baked layers of egg pasta with slow cooked beef ragu, nutmeg bechamel, tomato and mozzarella cheese. I thought I might have regretted skipping my regular pizza but thankfully this was not the case.
It was pleasing, too, to have food that had come straight from the oven and had not gone cold wwhile waiting for a server to bring it to the table.
Living the dolce vita in Harrogate
As in most good restaurants in Italy, the dessert menu at Divino is shorter than the patience of your typical Italian driver when confronted with a traffic jam. The vanilla panna cotta served with fresh berries perfectly cleaned my palate from the lasagna. A light, delicate, milky flavour prevailed in this traditional Italian dessert. Thankfully, my partner’s baked vanilla cheesecake served with ice cream on the side was of the same quality and tasted fresh too. If you order a coffee to complete your meal, the Divino staff even add a biscuit, which I thought was a nice touch; many restaurants seem to forget that sometimes a little sweetness adds to a good coffee.
Access for all
Although the restaurant is on three levels and the steps leading up to the entrance might initially deter less-mobile diners, help is at hand via a ramp that leads not only to the main restaurant (via three steps) but also an outside area that would be ideal for al fresco dining when the weather is warmer. A disabled toilet is situated just to the rear of the restaurant.
A well-balanced restaurant
With good service and a nice ambience, Divino is ideal for couples, parties, and families too. We never felt rushed by the servers, who were attentive but never obtrusive. If you were a regular diner when the restaurant was known as Lucia, or if you’re looking for somewhere new and reasonably priced to dine in Harrogate, Divino is simply divine!
Antipasto alla £22.00; lasagna al forno £16.00; Divino pizza £16.00; vanilla panna cotta £7.50; cheesecake £8.00; caffe Americano single £3.50.
