Carluccio's Caffe

After another long tiring day, was in need of some caffeine. Came across carluccio's across the road from gstar and thought we'd give it a try.

Carluccio's Caffe

With a nice afternoon, the outside tables was the choice. The menu had a nice refreshing touch to it.

Latte

The latte with the "rich" blend. Was told that this would be slightly bitter, yet I couldn't taste any of that. Even with the richer blend, it still lacked the coffee taste. Although I was told this was much better than what you could normally get... Still amazes me that no effort was placed in to any coffee art!

Fettucce Con Polpette, Linguine Ai Fruitti Di Mare, and Tortellini Di Cervo

Minutes led on to many more minutes, and we decided to get some food while we're there. The local special of a tasting trio was on the cards, to allow sampling of all their famous pastas. Fettucce con polpette (egg pasta ribbons and homemade meatballs in a rich tomato and basil sauce), linguine ai fruitti di mare (linguine pasta with squid, mussels, clams and prawns with garlic, herbs and chilli), and tortellini di cervo (tortellini filled with wine braised venison). The fettucine was nice but lacked a bit of flavour with the tomato based sauce. The meatballs had flavour but wasn't enough to balance the bland pasta. Linguine was the pick of the bunch, done well and the sweetness of the seafood was great. The tortellini was... just didn't live up to expectations. Was a little dry for what it was and not much flavour of venison.

Spaghetti Alle Vongole In Bianco, Pasta Con Funghi, and Spaghetti Carbonara

The second tasting platter of spaghetti alle vongole in bianco (neapolitan spaghetti with whole fresh claims, garlic, herbs and chilli), pasta con funghi (egg pappardelle with a mix of shitake, oyster, porcini and button mushrooms), and spaghetti carbonara (spaghetti, egg and smoked pancetta). The vongole was good, with very similar taste and texture to the seafood linguine. The mushroom pappardelle was the most disappointing. The mushrooms and its sauce just didn't seem to blend together with the pappardelle, which I'd think was a wrong choice in pasta. The carbonara was pretty standard, nothing too bad or great.

It's nice to have the options of getting a tasting platter (even if it's for one person) to sample all their pastas. Least I know if I come back, what to get and what not to get! Decent value for money too

Bicester Village
Bicester