Why Isola Ristorante Italiano?

With so many Italian restaurants around, you may question choosing to dine in one at a Five Star hotel, but read on to find out why you will want to do precisely that at Isola. Make sure to go soon however, before it closes for the season on November 12.

The new METT hotel emanates sophistication yet with a relaxed vibe, which you already sense on entering its reception area with the staff making you feel immediately welcome. Isola is located to the left and consists of a grand interior dining area fronting a full length bar, with doors which open onto a spacious terrace.

Currently open for dinner only, you will be seated within a veritable oasis, with stylish planters supporting rows of elegant rainbow palms and other exotic foliage effectively dividing the space. Here, solid wooden tables are surrounded by soft upholstered sofas and comfy dining chairs, reinforcing the effect in pistachio green.

Quality wooden flooring abounds, with stone coloured hexagonal tiling beneath the tables, and the enveloping ambience is enhanced by the profusion of spotlighting illuminating the plants, the great hanging orb lamps suspended from the panelled roof, and the pleasing background music.

Desirable Dining

The Executive Chef of Isola is Giannis Toman, and his more than 15 years of experience specialising in Mediterranean and fusion cuisine are borne out in the menu, which while compact is very versatile, with an enticing range of starters, salads, pastas and risottos, fish and meat dishes. The focus is on genuine, home-cooked food with a southern Italian touch. There’s also something really special, but more about that later.

Our group resolved to try a varied selection of starters which, when ordered, didn’t take long to arrive at our table. As we tucked into these on a sharing basis, every mouthful formed the realisation that the food being served here is exceptional in flavour. The carpaccio of beetroot with stracchino cheese, pinenuts and orange dressing just melted on the palate and the fried calamaris with paprika and lime mayonnaise were yummy and crunchy.

Contrastingly, the tuna tartare with avocado was fresh and tangy, while the salad with Sicilian tomatoes, roasted peppers and feta cheese was simply outstanding. Having had our expectations met and surpassed, our appetites were really piqued for the main courses to come.

These consisted of a deliciously piquant homemade spaghetti alle vongole, a somewhat addictive gnocchi with red mullet ragout, a very flavoursome scaloppine de vitello al limon, and a sliced beef ribeye steak, that was wonderfully succulent, accompanied by rocket and Grana Padano. Having relished these to the max, it was evident that any dish ordered from this menu is going to impress.

Superb Pinsa

The best was yet to come, however, as we had been encouraged to try the speciality of the house: the pinsa made in their authentic pizza oven. This is like a deep pan pizza only much better, consisting of a dough that is made from only 20% flour and 80% water, being stored for 72 hours to ferment. The resulting base is incredibly light, allowing the topping to reign supreme. The pinsa diavola we shared evoked instant acclaim, and this is a highlight not to be missed.

We finished what had been an exceptional dining experience with a medley of desserts: an authentic tiramisù, warm chocolate fondant with hazelnut ice cream, and the best of all, a scrumptious pistachio cheesecake.

Isola also offers an extensive selection of wines from the best wine-producing regions of Italy as well as international vintages and a range of cocktails freshly shaken at the bar. We sampled both of their excellent house wines: Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio and Pecoranera from Brindisi in Puglia.