Entering the underground car park of Lucky Square in Jianye District, a giant advertisement for Papà Danilo features their lasagne, its positioning perfection in itself.
A little predictable maybe, this must surely be their signature dish. It must therefore also be perfection in itself. We’ll get to that.
Papà claims on its menu origins which lie in Milan, a fact not easy to corroborate. With three locations in Beijing; that part is true; the Nanjing operation is its first elsewhere in China. And to be fair, we are lucky to have it.
Papà is also just one of many seemingly-upscale eateries in Lucky backing on to Suo Jie that runs parallel to the homes of some of Nanjing’s more wealthy.
Such a captive market suggests prices therein may be excessive, but this is the first pleasant surprise; for 2023 Nanjing, they are literally bang on the money.
Now, it is sometimes said that the secret to authentic Italian cuisine is “more of everything”.
That mantra holds true at Papà; “homely”, the descriptor used on the restaurant’s introduction, was corroborated by the Crema di funghi (mushroom soup; ¥29). Meanwhile, Lasagna Alla Bolognese (¥79) encapsulates the theory; “heavy” and “rich” are the key takeaways. Same goes for the Rigatoni Alla Bolognese (¥75); a helping of either for lunch implying dinner will be a light affair indeed.
But while the aforementioned signage certainly fulfilled its promise, it was also deceptive.
The tables at Papà could do with being a tad bigger, especially given that dishes are often served on oversized plates, presumably with an eye on the aesthetic.
That we were a party of five meant that this late arriving correspondent was given a seat on the end of a standard table for four. Not good, since it was too small in the first place. But, speaking of clouds and their linings, the size of the tables allows for a healthy level of social distance between them.
Then there was the cutlery. With their other eye also on the cosmetic, the weapons of cuisine are oversized; their weight bias toward the handle. The result is a almost continuous clatter of cutlery cascading floor side and the attendant wait staff scurrying efficiently around to rectify. They should instead have been looking out for me trying to catch their eye for some more water.
