PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAA deli in name only, Dino’s nonetheless serves up some delightful smallgoods. Jamon is the speciality here. Peruse the menu while admiring the production of the famed Iberico ham, then sample the real thing, starting from around $20 for 20g up to $36 for the best of the best – Joselita iberico de belotta. It’s a flexible menu here, with the restaurant serving food from 7am for breakfast and continuing throughout the day. The surroundings are suitably Continental – dark furnishings and a dim interior with the sunlight streaming in, cosy back rooms, and a bar piled with quality wines, spirits and neatly stacked tins with pretty labels. Raciones are available from lunchtime as well as a selection of bocadillos and main meals such as pasta, risotto and meat dishes.
Use a plate of selected jamon as the starting point for your meal. Include a few raciones, such as slow-baked Corella pear with air-dried ricotta for a light meal, or progress to mains such as the Alhambra braised lamb with capers, red onions and preserved lemon, or a rigatoni of veal with Manzanilla olives and soft herbs. Sides are interesting enough to warrant inclusion in their own right; try the French green peas with lettuce or spinach, garlic and smoky almonds. Finish off in Spanish style with crema Catalana or roasted seasonal fruits with basil and balsamic.
Angela Costanzo, September 2008