Little Italy : Authentic Italian food in Amman

When someone says Italian food, the word pasta pops in our head completely uninvited, just like one’s ex bringing their new partner to a friend’s gathering. Yet, a bit of research would reveal that pasta is not Italian; it was brought to Italy from Asia by Marco Polo in the 13th century. اضافة اعلان

Regardless of the origin, and for the fun fact of the day, three simple ingredients (egg, flour, and oil) are mixed and shaped into the different shapes and sizes that we know today as pasta. Longer thin ones, like spaghetti, linguine, etc., are mainly for heavier, creamier sauces. The tubular shape, like penne, rigatoni, cannelloni, etc., are for lighter sauces.

For this week, I decided to go for an Italian experience at Little Italy, which I had heard a lot about lately.



Little Italy has two branches, one in Taj Mall and the other in the Abdoun area. While checking out their menu online, I realized that their options are from the authentic side of Italian cuisine rather than the Americanized version, which I will get to in a moment. Walking into the restaurant, and after checking our reservation, they sat us down quickly. however, it took them quite some time to come to the table and start the service.

The menu consists of appetizers, both hot and cold, pastas, pizzas, salads, mains, and desserts. The menu is written in Italian with an English description. After multiple questions to the server and asking for recommendations, he informed us that the pasta dough was homemade, which is an advantage for any Italian restaurant.

We ordered the kale caesar salad, cacio e pepe pasta, lasagna, risotto of the month, diavola pizza, and a banoffemisu for dessert. A massive carb intake for a table of two, yes.



The kale caesar salad was big enough for two people to consume, which can be great for sharing. The taste was great and well-balanced, but it had a little extra dressing. Given that caesar dressing is mayonnaise-based, it can be pretty heavy to start your experience with.

Cacio e pepe is a simple pasta dish made with pecorino romano cheese and black pepper. Traditionally, the pasta is cooked with just enough water in the pot. Good amounts of cheese and black pepper are added to create a creamy white sauce, which, in Americanized versions, turns into the Alfredo sauce that we all know, but with the addition of cream. As an ingredient, cream is not used in Italian cuisine; I learned this the hard way working with Italians in the US.



This pasta was a little dry as a dish, even though the taste was good. I suggest adding a bit of pasta water to make it a bit creamier, since cheese gets harder as it colder. This dish needs a liquid ingredient to bring it all together.

I heard from several people that  Little Italy’s lasagna was a highlight. Even though sometimes I get skeptical about ordering lasagna in restaurants, I had to try this one: the creaminess of the bechamel sauce, the homemade marinara sauce, and the portion that feeds two people were to be commended.

The risotto of the month was mushroom flavored. Many might enjoy this flavor in risotto, since it is a popular one. Yet, I believe this dish could have been a little more creative, what with all the vegetables available — something like a lemon risotto with shrimp, saffron, spinach pesto, or pumpkin. It needed to be slightly elevated as a dish, even as mushroom risotto.



The pizzas at Little Italy are napoletana-style pizza; as the name suggests, they originated in Naples, Italy. You would usually find an airy crust on the sides with toppings in the middle, unlike either thin-crusr or thick doughy pizzas. This one was excellent in flavor, topping, and cooking method.

Last but not least is the dessert, which goes straight to the heart. The banoffemisu is a hybrid blend between tiramisu and a banoffee pie. I am not a big fan of bananas in dessert, but I wanted to try it out to see the hybrid blend of creativity in this one.

I would not say it was out of this world; it was okay. Sometimes we should not reinvent the wheel, but maybe get creative in other ways, like deconstructing a meal; in this case, maybe upcharging it with the addition of an Amaretto shot in a pipette, which would enable diners to inject the dessert with Amaretto, or make the ladyfingers in-house, or even add an Arabic touch to it.



The server had knowledge about certain aspects of menu, but they did not seem to give much attention to details or notice a guest sitting down unattended for quite some time after entering the restaurant. nor were they checking on the table as often as they should have to see what the guests needs.

I recommend this restaurant to those looking for a good pizza or pasta since their pasta dough is homemade. The value for money was acceptable, commensurate with the quality of food being served. Next time, I would try the more common items on the menu and the lasagna again.


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