Fellini
Vesterå 13
9000 Aalborg
Telephone: +45 98 11 34 55
Overall rating: 6/10
Date of visit: December 2013
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Fellini has long been known as one of the better restaurants in Aalborg, but I’m talking from personal experience when I say that this, unfortunately, doesn’t say much.
I have been here several times in the past, mostly going a la carte. This meal was a menu, priced at 328 Danish kroner (€44) for three courses. Add drinks to that price. Choosing one of their many pastas dishes seems to me like better value for money, but more about that later.
The food here is typical Italian. Not old-fashioned but not particularly creative/modern either – just good old well-tasting Italian food.
This was their winter menu with the first course being battered fish with a saffron sauce, a few sprigs of thyme and chives and a cherry tomato.
The main course was veal served with a potato gratin flavoured with sage, asparagus wrapped in bacon, red onions cooked with balsamic vinegar, and fennel with melted cheese on top. Personally, I would have liked the veal to have been cooked a bit less (it was cooked medium or a bit more), but that’s a minor detail. My wife at the time said that the red onions I do with balsamic vinegar are better, and I have to agree. Here, I believe they had only been seared with the vinegar, making the onions themselves less sweet and the taste of vinegar more pungent.
The dessert was a tiramisu with chocolate sauce and a few berries, which didn’t have much flavour as this wasn’t the season for berries.
The food was definitely decent and well-cooked, but not so much more than that. Admittedly, I like some creativity when I go out to eat but food doesn’t have to be made in a laboratory for me to like it. Fellini is a place I would be fine to go back to when I’m in the mood for traditional Italian food, but I will most likely choose a pasta dish next time.
The service was nice and friendly as well, and two in our party were allowed to swap their starter for two different soups (one mushroom and one shellfish) they preferred instead.
When it comes to value for money, then I suggest going for one of their pasta dishes, most of which are priced reasonably around 100 kroner (€13). If you only have a light appetite, you can easily get full from one of those dishes.
When you add up all the pieces in the complicated puzzle called price (cost of ingredients, salaries, rent, profit, etc.), you of course come to the conclusion that you can’t expect more than a certain standard from a certain price. Compared to Southern European standards, 328 kroner (€44) + drinks seems like a lot, but 3-400 kroner + drinks is unfortunately what you should expect to pay in Denmark for a decent three course meal. Nevertheless, I have been to a couple of restaurants with better food at a lower price. One is Tony’s, where three courses were only 200 kroner – 40 % cheaper than at Fellini. Although Tony’s also serve traditional Italian food, it was simply better than this meal. Another place is Cofoco, where four (small) courses cost 300 kroner. The food there was significantly better than at Fellini. The problem is, of course, that these two restaurants are in the other end of the country in Copenhagen. So, if you want to go out to eat in Aalborg, Fellini is one of the best bets. Another option would be Azzura in Aalborg, which is similarly priced and of similar quality, although I might prefer Azzura just a tad more. If you can afford to spend a bit more, then San Giovanni has been better the two times I have been there, but I have heard that they have changed their concept, although I can’t comment on this.
Dansk anmeldelse
Fellini
Vesterå 13
9000 Aalborg
Telefon: 98 11 34 55
Samlet vurdering: 6/10
Besøgets dato: December 2013
Fellini har længe haft ry for at være et af de bedre spisesteder I Aalborg, men jeg taler desværre af erfaring, når jeg siger, at det ikke siger meget.
Jeg har været her flere gange før i tiden, hvor vi oftest har valgt a la carte. Dette måltid var en menu, som kostede 328 kroner for tre retter + drikkevarer. Man ville nok få mere for pengene ved at vælge en af deres pastaretter, men mere om det senere.
Maden på Fellini er typisk italiensk. Ikke gammeldags, men heller ikke videre kreativt eller moderne – bare god gammeldags velsmagende italiensk mad.
Menuen var deres vintermenu, hvor første ret var paneret fisk med en safransauce, a par kviste timian og purløg og en cherrytomat.
Hovedretten var kalvekød serveret med en kartoffelgratin tilsmagt med salvie, asparges omviklet med bacon, rødløg tilberedt med balsamicoeddike samt fennikel med smeltet ost ovenpå. Jeg kunne godt have tænkt mig, at kødet havde været stegt lidt mindre (det var stegt medium eller lidt mere), men det er en mindre detalje. Min hustru mente, at de rødløg, jeg laver med balsamicoeddike, er bedre, og jeg er faktisk enig. Disse løg lod til kun at være blevet stegt med eddike kortvarigt, hvilket gjorde, at løgene ikke var så søde, og eddikesmagen var lidt skarp.
Desserten var tiramisu med chokoladesauce og et par bær, som ikke smagte af meget, nu det heller ikke var sæson for bær.
Maden var absolut hæderlig og vellavet, men heller ikke meget mere end det. Jeg skal være ærlig at sige, at jeg foretrækker at få lidt mere kreativt mad, når jeg tager på restaurant, men maden behøver ikke at være blevet lavet med kolber og sifonflasker, før jeg kan lide det. Jeg kan sagtens forestille mig tage på Fellini igen, hvis jeg er i stødet til traditionel italiensk mad, men jeg vælger så nok en pastaret næste gang.
Betjeningen var også god og venlig, og to i selskabet fik også lov til at bytte forretten ud med to forskellige supper (svampesuppe og skaldyrssuppe), som de hellere ville have.
Når man ser på, hvad man får for pengene, vil jeg anbefale at vælge en af deres pastaretter, som er rimeligt prissat til omkring 100 kroner. Hvis man ikke er så sulten, kan man nemt blive mæt af en enkelt pastaret.
Når man regner alt sammen i det indviklede regnestykke, der hedder pris (prisen på råvarerne, løn, husleje, fortjeneste osv.), kommer man selvfølgelig frem til, at man kun kan forvente et vist niveau af en vis pris. I forhold til prisniveauet i Sydeuropa virker 328 kroner + drikkevarer som mange penge, men 3-400 kroner + drikkevarer er jo desværre, hvad man bør forvente at betale for et hæderligt måltid på tre retter. Ikke desto mindre har jeg været på flere restauranter, som både var bedre og billigere. En af dem var Tony’s, hvor tre retter kun kostede 200 kroner – altså 40 % billigere end Fellini. Selvom Tony’s også laver traditionel italiensk mad, var maden ganske enkelt bedre end på Fellini. En anden restaurant er Cofoco, hvor fire (små) retter koster 340 kroner. Maden der var klart bedre end på Fellini. Problemet er selvfølgelig, at de to restauranter ligger i København, så hvis man skal ud at spise i Aalborg, er Fellini et af de bedste alternativer. En anden mulighed ville være Azzura, som er lignende prisniveau og kvalitet, selvom jeg dog nok foretrækker Azzura en anelse. Hvis man har råd til at spendere lidt mere, har maden på San Giovanni været bedre de to gange, jeg har været der. Jeg har dog hørt, at de har ændret restaurantens koncept, men det er ikke noget, jeg kan udtale mig om.
