La Giara opened just two months ago and is setting out to fill a niche in up-market Italian dining. Tucked away on the second floor, it offers a quiet environment elegantly furnished in rustic chic. The menu is extensive, covering the gamut of Italian food, though in line with the restaurant's name, does have a strong core of Sicilian dishes.
According to manager Salvatore Genco, La Giara refers to the terracotta wine jars once used for storing wine. This provides colors and textures of the dining environment. The very extensive selection of wines on offer, encompassing Australian, Californian, Spanish, Chilean and, of course, Italian is a fair indication that La Giara is targeting a finicky and up-market clientele. "We want to be able to satisfy many tastes," Genco said, "although this does increase our costs." For all that, the house wine is a very reasonable NT$900.
The menu is equally extensive, with most of the expected pasta and pizza dishes (approximately NT$400), along with more innovative dishes. For something designed specifically for the hot Taipei afternoons, the spinach salad with ginger is ideal, the light dressing underlining the flavor of the fresh crisp leaves and the ginger giving a subtle tang.
"The use of ginger is now quite common in modern Italian cooking," Genco pointed out, saying that this was not particularly a concession to local tastes.
The rack of lamb confirms La Giara's elegant credentials, with two splendidly tender medallions of meat hanging off the ribs, the pink blood seeping ever so slightly into the yellow mustard sauce. The flavor of the meat is allowed to speak for itself, but for those who want to chow down, a pasta dish might be recommended to lay the foundations.
Desserts are something worth waiting for as well, and to make a change from the ubiquitous tiramisu (which at La Giara comes in two styles) there is an amazingly light and delicious semi-fredo of nuts and chocolate. Without the richness of ice cream, and with hints of roasted nut, it is an ideal accompaniment to coffee.
According to Genco, dishes such as tuna and mint sauce, swordfish, octopus, the clam and mussel soup and the wide use of ricotta and eggplant show La Giara's Sicilian credentials. Everything is beautifully served and with widely spaced tables, there is plenty of privacy.
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