Angelo’s
“There’s only an angry Italian here.”
I’m not the biggest fan of Italian restaurants in Sweden. Often, they focus too much on the cheese aspect of the Italian cuisine, while being just a bit too Italian when it comes to adapting to food preferences/allergenes. On top of that, prices for simple pasta dishes can get very high. So, it’s a bit of an unusual situation for me to visit a place like Angelo’s, but well, let’s see!
Located more or less across Scandinavium, Angelo’s blends in somewhat into the scenery at Sten Sturegatan. A lot of residential mixed with restaurants and pubs. Difficult to stand out. During events at Scandinavium, Angelo’s also only offers a special event menu, so they try to make the best out of the location.
Getting inside on a Tuesday evening was a bit interesting however, as the place was pretty much dead empty. The Italian restaurant next door was buzzing though, so that’s not a good sign. But well, hospitality can be rough sometimes, so no biggie here.
The menu present itself quite fancy, even with full three course menu options. Other than that, it’s your Italian standards of pasta, risotto and pizza. As well as some fish and meat dishes. So, what about vegan options? Well, only pasta all’ arrabbiata are available. One. Dish.
Not very convincing, but beggars can’t be choosers. Considering it has a price tag of 199 SEK, that better be the best all’ arrabbiata one can think of.
I didn’t take them long, no wonder, the place was empty, but then the dishes were served. The pasta comes in a large plate, and is topped with rucola. It looks good, not gonna lie!
In terms of taste, it’s an interesting choice. First off, the pasta is overcooked and could have done better with 2 minutes less time in the water. The sauce itself is interesting. It has some heat as you expect from an all’ arrabbiata, but at the same time it’s very sweet.
There was definitely a good amount of sugar added to the tomato sauce, probably to fight acidity. While I don’t think it’s bad, it is at least an odd choice and very non-authentic. It has an interesting sweet chili touch though due to that. However, the overcooked pasta with the sauce feels a bit much due to that.
All in all, it’s acceptable, as the presentation and service are quite nice. But the one dish, that comes at a high price point and is rather average in execution make it less inviting.
Price:
Pasta all’ arrabbiata: 199 SEK
Alcohol-free beer: 62 SEK
Alcohol-free bubbles (glass): 129 SEK
The Verdict
Angelo’s is an acceptable experience. Downsides are first and foremost the lack of vegan options, as there is literally only one dish on the menu that is vegan (pasta all’ arrabbiata). Considering the whopping price point of 199 SEK for a simple tomato sauce pasta, you might expect some sort of higher quality, but in the end it was just alright. The sauce is weirdly sweet, so they definitely added sugar to it to fight the acidity (not very Italian of them) and the pasta itself was overcooked. Generally, the pricing at Angelo’s is a bit ridiculous with higher than average prices also for drinks.
Still, the service is quite nice and friendly and as an experience with non-vegan company, you can tag along and have a decent enough evening. But surely no place to seek out for a good vegan pasta. More like 2/5 if you just focus on the food.
3/5 Leaves
Pro
Nice atmosphere
Friendly staff
Con
Only one vegan dish
Rather average execution
High price point for both food and drinks
Location
Sten Sturegatan 17
Opening Hours
Mo-Th: 16:00 - 22:00
Fr: 15:00 - 23:00
Sa: 12:00 - 23:00
Su: 13:00 - 22:00
