Just a short jaunt out of Cambridge on the A603 beyond Barton, you’ll discover La Pergola, one of the most authentic and welcoming Italian restaurants you could hope to find. La Pergola is a real family affair: Giulio is in charge of the kitchen (complete with its stunning wood-burning pizza oven); his daughter Rosa and her husband Domenico take care of the front of house; his son Tony manages the bar; while Giulio’s wife ‘Nonna’ Maria bakes the superb home-made bread you’ll find here.
Giulio first came over to this country in 1962, and ran the famous Copper Kettle on King’s Parade for many years. Last year the family took over the freehold of the old Wheatsheaf pub here, and have since transformed it into the popular establishment that attracts customers from Cambridge and the surrounding villages.
The family’s roots are in the Campania region of southern Italy, and this is reflected in the delicious freshly-prepared food in which La Pergola specialises. The emphasis in this part of Italy (the region around Naples) is very much on pizza – which was invented there – and pasta dishes. La Pergola’s pizzas are traditionally made, from scratch, with the delightful crispy-but-chewy base you only get from handmade pizzas. They are excellent value too, with seven different varieties (including a well-stacked Quattro Stagioni topped with Parma ham, mushrooms, olives, peppers, mozzarella and tomato, and a Calzone folded pizza) ranging in price from £6.20 to £7.50.
The freshly-prepared pasta options are equally varied. Popular dishes include a classic spaghetti alla carbonara made with pancetta; linguini alla bella Napoli with clams and mussels; and the pasta ‘casareccia’ made with the family’s own homemade spicy sausage containing white wine, fennel and a hint of orange. The spicy sausage is also available as a main dish straight from the grill, as are an excellent selection of steaks, while seafood options include chargrilled tiger prawns and a sumptuous whole sea bass. La Pergola’s homemade desserts are another particular source of pride, with a rich and yielding tiramisu beautifully presented in a Lavazza coffee cup.
There are loads of lovely touches at La Pergola which make it a delightful place to visit for lunch or dinner, such as the home-made pickles which form part of their antipasto misto selection, or Nonna Maria’s homemade bread baskets. But the thing that really remains with you after a visit to La Pergola is its sense of character, the genuine welcome you’ll receive, and the sense of heart and soul that have gone into making this a truly authentic Italian experience in the Cambridgeshire countryside.