The Carpenters Arms: Italian Kitchen - Review

Who doesn’t love Italian food? Well, I certainly do. Having been fortunate enough to experience the real deal in the beautiful country itself, it can sometimes be difficult to find restaurants in England that live up to the expectations set by the joys of italian cuisine. Alas, look no further than The Carpenters Arms: Italian Kitchen located in Walesby, Nottinghamshire.  Not only does this hidden gem do wonderful Italian food, it also combines the traditional English roast and elevates it to a standard that only a handful of places are able to achieve. 

Now having visited not once, twice but three times I feel that I have sufficient experience to give The Carpenters Arms a rave review. 

The first time I visited the restaurant was on a Sunday afternoon, tired and hungry from a long day of walking around the English countryside. That day, I ordered a delicious meal of fresh cavolo nero pesto pasta topped with crumbles of ricotta and lemon zest. It is for certain that the pasta here is exceptional, so much so that when we were able to, we returned on a weekday. This was due to the fact that on Sundays the menu is split between Italian and English, allowing those in your party a wider range of choice between the foods they want to devour, whether that be the risotto or the porchetta.  In the week the focus is maintained on a wide range of pasta dishes that all sound so good you just want to eat them all.

After having kept a pasta only rule, on my last visit I decided to branch out and try a traditional roast dinner after having them highly recommended by the other people in my party. Usually, I am reluctant to try roasts when I am out as not everyone is able to make them as well as the ones that I grew up with. I find often that meat is too dry, vegetables lack flavour or gravy is tepid and grainy. However fear not, as there was not a single bad thing to say about this particular dinner. I opted for the roasted porchetta dinner, and I am so pleased that I did as there is nothing quite so delicious as locally sourced pork cooked to perfection. The rest of the plate featured some of the best stuffing I’ve ever had, beautifully crisp roast potatoes and fluffy buttery mash, carrots, broccoli and cabbage and a yorkshire pudding bigger than my face, aka the size that they should always be as in my opinion there should be no such thing as a small yorkshire pudding. We also opted for the optional but necessary extras of cauliflower cheese, with a slightly burnt top that added a perfect smoky edge, and some very large pigs in blankets. It’s safe to say that this makes my list of best roast dinners. 

If any of that didn’t sound good enough, allow me to introduce the star of the show. FOCACCIA. As a self-confessed bread addict, there is nothing that makes me happier than a fantastically baked loaf and a tonne of salted butter. For my fellow bread lovers, prepare to ascend. The Carpenters Arms have successfully created the best focaccia I have had in my life and I fear that nothing will ever again live up to the standard that has been created. The focaccia comes in a few different varieties, I have tried the plain and the sun dried tomato version. Thick slices of the bread come served with a mountain of salted butter, fresh olive oil and roasted garlic to accompany the fluffy slices of heaven. And if you crave more, these loaves of bread are available to purchase so that you can enjoy this delight from the comfort of your own home, as well as being able to buy beautifully crafted clay bottles that can be filled with their delicious olive oil. The next day, I made an elite level garlic bread with the focaccia that we had purchased and I don’t think I will ever be the same.  

So please, if you are in the area, or fancy a drive somewhere, I cannot recommend The Carpenters Arms: Italian Kitchen enough, and I can almost guarantee that you will be back.