Caterina at the Grande Epicerie Rive Droite: The new trattoria by Nicola Iovine in Paris

Dear Parisians, tourists and people living in Paris 16^th arrondissement, forget about the gourmet restaurant nestled on the 2^nd floor of the Grande Epicerie Rive Droite and discover Caterina.

As you can imagine, this new restaurant gives pride of place to Italian and mostly Neapolitan cuisine. We must say that the mastermind behind this project is talented chef Nicola Iovine already running the Iovine’s restaurants in Paris.

In this early year 2019, he takes over the last floor of the Grande Epicerie Rive Droite with a Neapolitan bistro with a perfect and friendly welcome, and a clear and bright décor. We love the two private lounges including one featuring a sofa (perfect for families), the large cocktail bar, the semi-open-plan kitchen and this impressive 400-sqm room in a round shape.

Moving on to the cooking, Caterina (as a nod to the name of Iovine’s mother and daughter), bets on authenticity and quality using the best of Italian ingredients, preferably coming from organic farming (burrata from Puglia, tomatoes from Vesuvius, ricotta di Buffala, Parmigiano Reggiano DOP, Parma ham DOP, pecorino romano DOP, extra virgin olive oil)… The whole at very affordable prices for the area.

For this new Parisian address, Nicola Iovine – coming from Naples – wanted to share his origins, “a bit as if I was inviting them to my Neapolitan table, with my mom and my family, for a really unique gustative experience” he said.

On the menu, then we find antipasti with arancini stuffed with burrata from Puglia or the montanara (a puff pizza dough filled with pan-fried scarole salad, a sauce made out of tomatoes from Vesuvius and ricotta di buffalo) without forgetting an assortment of charcuteries.

As for us, we went for the caponata e bufala: a very beautiful and colorful plate with sautéed seasonal vegetables (diced eggplants, zucchinis and bell peppers) and a delicious and soft mozzarella di Buffala. A very beautiful starter to kick the tasting off the right way!

Caponata e bufala

Moving on to main courses, seven options including the famous Milanese breaded veal escalope or the linguine with zucchini cream and Parmigiano Reggiano DOP cured for 24 months and basil, without forgetting the veal stewed for 24 hours.

As for pizzas, the menu provides not less than twelve of them including six classics (Margherita DOP, Regina, Calzone…) and six creations including some already on the menu of other restaurants and some are unique such as the surprising yet tantalizing Pizza Fritta (fried puff pizza filled with ricotta di Buffala, smoked mozzarella, tomato sauce and black pepper).

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In the mood for pizzas, that night we go for two best-sellers: Meaning the excellent Iovine’s for €18 and its incredible tomatoes from Vesuvius, its soft mozzarella, its 24-month cured Parma ham, its countless shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano DOP aged for 24 months, its arugula, its basil and its delicious EVO olive oil. Definitely a favorite!

Pizza Iovine's

Across the table, we enjoy the also delicious Tartufata for €19 (mozzarella, black truffle cream 5%, basil, EVO olive oil).

Pizza Tartufata

We particularly enjoyed the pizza dough, loyal to the traditional Neapolitan recipe, what a delight!

Finally, sweet-toothed foodies will be over the moon thanks to five desserts including the irresistible tiramisu or the panna cotta.

Homemade tiramisu

But if you want to discover more atypical desserts, go for the croccante alla amarena. Behind this sweet Italian name hides a delicious and smooth mascarpone cream, toasted hazelnuts and Amarena cherries. Such a delight!

Croccante alla amarena

The bonus? The large bar to enjoy an aperitivo like in the country of the Dolce Vita. Go for one of the seven creation cocktails including the eponymous recipe based on vodka zubrowska biala hibiscus, quaglia lampone liquor, citron syrup, lemon juice, raspberry emulsion and Lambrusco.

In other words, here’s a very beautiful and successful culinary journey for Caterina likely to come up as one of the most irresistible Italian addresses in Paris right bank!

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