Martin Scorsese once said: “If your mother cooks Italian food, why should you go to a restaurant?” For those of us who had to grow up without an Italian mother, La Bologninais the place to enjoy authentic Italian cuisine. The small shop is really more of a kitchen table with a large counter that makes up the heart of the space. Two to three types of fresh pasta are prepared anew every day: Tagliatelle, strozzapreti (which literally translates as “priest strangler”) and filled varieties such as tortellini and ravioli, which are also offered to take away. La Bolognina was opened in December 2014 in the shadow of the Neukölln town hall and derives its name from Bologna’s train station district. The liveliness of the area is what reminded owner Luca Spinogatti of Neukölln. He wants his food to be inexpensive and simple, and knows that the right ingredients, sourced directly from their producers, are the decisive factor when it comes to quality – his olive oil and wines are imported from Abruzzo, for example. Summery dishes like tagliolini with lemon, parsley and colatura di alici di Cetara, an anchovy sauce from the Amalfi coast, evoke – at least in me – childhood memories of days spent under pine trees and an azure blue sky – despite never having had the experience myself. (Text: Marc Holzenbecher / Photos: Pamina Aichhorn)
La Bolognina, Donaustr.107, 12043 Berlin-Neukölln; map
Tue-Sat 12-23h
Marc Holzenbecher is the founder and executive editor of Still Magazine. After having worked in Paris, New York and Santiago de Chile, he is currently back in Berlin.
