Italy this time! But again, not Naples or Rome, but the very centre of Wymondham. I had walked past Rudy's several times and had noticed the exceedingly jolly seats outside; twin seats painted bright red, with heart shaped backs to them, so I thought I would try it. My companion this time was a delightful Japanese lady translator; unfortunately her Japanese to Italian via English gave rise to some hilarity when I tried to explain the literal meaning of pasta putanesca*: in the end she chose pizza. The restaurant was very welcoming and had a happy atmosphere; our table was ready and so was the young waiter who was only on his second day there. 

Whilst we struggled with the menu, I asked if we could have some bread, and 'Rudy' (as we named him) brought two neat plates of cubed bread together with a dish of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Delightful! Eventually I chose Penne Primavera which my schoolgirl french (?) told me meant 'spring' and my companion chose the Pizza Gamberi E Rucola which is pizza with prawns and rocket. While we waited we both had a glass of Pinot Grigio which was beautifully chilled, and before long the main course was brought. Having experienced the meagre splat of parmesan granted in a prestigious Italian restaurant elsewhere, I was impressed as 'Rudy' patiently grated parmesan over our dishes to a chorus of 'More, more!'

My Penne Primavera was delicious and fresh with aubergines, tomatoes, mushrooms and a lovely creamy sauce and there was more than enough of it. My Companion's pizza was simply the biggest I have ever seen and would ordinarily be used to feed a family of six. Even so, I did feel that the £11.50 was a little costly for this dish considering that my penne was only £8.50 – much better value. Needless to say we managed to eat the lot and begged for the desert menu. One of the features of this restaurant is that they serve a wide selection of Gelati both inside and to take away: rows of pretty ice-cream cones stand on the counter defying any small child to walk past without a murmur. My companion – by this time stuffed with her six-person pizza – chose the melon gelato and I chose the tiramisu. Now tiramisu can be sickly sometimes, and on top of all that creamy pasta might have been a mistake, but this was a very light-hearted version, made using fragments of light sponge cake mixed with the cream and coffee and Marsala and chocolate. Bliss on a spoon. The gelato was pronounced just right and was, in fact, more like a sorbet than the usual ice-cream. We each had a delicious cup of Italian Americano coffee to finish with. The loo was clearly undergoing refurbishment and some rebuilding, so I will be interested to see the result. Fresh flowers were on each table giving the room a bright clean appearance.

Would I go again? Well, I already have: just for coffee on a hot day when I sat outside on the bright red twin-seat and ate a delicious portion of baked raspberry cheesecake from a selection of tempting deserts. But that's another story.

Bottom line,
£11.50 Pizza
£8.50 Penne Primavera
£2.70 Gelato
£4.90 Tiramisu
£5.70 two glasses of wine
£3.40 two coffees
The bread was free.
Total £36.70

Rudy's Pizzeria and Takeaway
4 Griffin Court, Town Centre, Wymondham, NR18 0GU Tel: 01953 606930

*No I am not going to tell you!

---

Copyright Village People. This article was first published in Village People. If anyone wishes to use any, or part of the Review, in any material, they will be required to ask permission of Village People, which should be given in writing. Village People reserves the right to charge a fee where permission has not been obtained to use any, or part of the Review in any material, online or offline.