Beeston might not boast the same sunny weather and stunning sea views as Sicily, but it does boast some of its famous meals - thanks to Compà, the street food joint on Wollaton Road. We swing by to check it out for ourselves…
Compà, which is slang for ‘friend’ in Italy - particularly the western part of Sicily - is a family-run restaurant in Beeston specialising in Sicilian street food.
Stepping inside, you are greeted by a projection of videos of the island onto the wall, and the tablecloths are printed with classic Mediterranean blue and yellow tiles which reminded us of our holiday to the Amalfi Coast. This setting, paired with one of the nicest Aperol spritzes I've had in a while, certainly made me feel like I was abroad and not in Beeston on a cold night. Plus, you get snacks with your aperitivo, which really makes you feel like you're on your holidays.
The restaurant is owned and run by Angela and Massimo, a couple from Sicily who spend their time in the kitchen creating family recipes that have quite literally been passed down from generations before them. Their son, Andrea, is the restaurant manager and the face that welcomes you with many years of hospitality experience behind him, including being made manager at Piccolino at just 21 years old.
“Despite my young age, I was trying my best to be the best. I focused on learning English, and once I couldn’t progress further at the current restaurant I was working at, I helped my parents open their own restaurant. Remaining very optimistic and ambitious has helped me a lot in my life,” Andrea muses.
The family first visited England in 2007 for a holiday and fell in love with the country, vowing to return. A decade later, they finally made the big step and settled in Nottingham. With a dream of opening their own Sicilian restaurant, Angela and Massimo put their heads down and made this a reality, opening Compà in Beeston in 2022. Having only been open a year, the company is expanding quickly, I’m told - with high hopes of opening a city centre branch in the future.
Our passion has always been cooking. We have always shared the love for authentic Sicilian cuisine that our grandmothers and our mothers have taught us
Compà encourage you to eat like the Italians, with the traditional four-course meal starting with antipasti, moving onto primi, working your way to secondi, and ending with dolci. Impressively, every single dish on the menu is homemade, including the cannoli shells stuffed with creamy, sweet ricotta. The antipasti menu boasts the likes of various filled arancini, pomodoro bruschetta, creamy burrata, homemade caponata, and focaccia. For primi, you can expect everything from lasagne to beef ragu rigatoni – a recipe passed on from Angela’s mother, which she learned to make when she was just seven years old. Secondi will treat you to one of their house specialities; homemade slow-cooked porchetta with Italian herbs. Desserts are also made in-house, and they serve some lovely homemade treats from the patisserie section.
The restaurant can also be rented out for private events with a bespoke menu. Keep an eye on their socials because, from September, nonna herself will be visiting from Sicily to host a cooking masterclass and help to redesign the winter menu.
“Our passion has always been cooking. We have always shared the love for authentic Sicilian cuisine that our grandmothers and our mothers have taught us. Growing up, our home has always been full of friends with whom we share our culinary creations. Our restaurant is like us: simple, clean and imperfect, but always ready to welcome you with the warmth and friendliness of the Sicilian soul,” Angela says.
Living in Britain, many would expect a variety of pasta dishes on the menu at an Italian restaurant, but Compà focus on Sicilian street food which allows you to taste dishes you wouldn’t ordinarily try. Think of it as Italian tapas, but at a very reasonable price – no dish on the menu is more than £10. We are told that the quality of ingredients used is the best on the market, and that they are one of few restaurants who don’t use a freezer/microwave combination to cook the food they serve, as everything is fresh and “made with love.”
The hospitality is second-to-none, and on a previous visit we have been treated by Andrea to a variety of dishes to try - which felt like being held hostage by the world's nicest man and forced to eat so much Italian food that you practically rolled out the door by the end of it. But, of course, we were only happy to oblige.
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