Oggi e Domani

So, we have some history with this place. This used to be our favorite Italian restaurant in Luxembourg a couple of years back. Then they changed the concept and the team and things went downhill from there. They used to serve amazing cocktails as well as great "planachas", boards of cheeses and charcuterie. But than, no more cocktails, no more planchas, and we had one especially bad night when our pasta portions were significantly smaller to the one being served to the neighboring table. We pointed this very obvious fact out to our waiter and his response was quite disrespectful.

After that, we did not go back for over a year but still fondly remembered the amazing food and drinks they were serving in the beginning. A couple of weeks ago, we ended up driving by the restaurant by chance and decided to give it another try; I am so glad we did!

Because, are you bored with average Italian food? Are you looking for something different, something new? Man, have we got a treat for you!

Oggi e Domani is not your typical Italian restaurant. It is a bit more high class, the interior design is done very tastefully, incorporating a lot of wood and colors. Their philosophy is that quality produce makes great food, and they do cook up some amazing dishes. Since our little debacle, the team has changed and the menu has been slightly adapted, and we have been going back on a regular basis. The current team is young, hard-working and friendly, and we have been very well taken care off. They gladly tell you about the current specials or help you find a great bottle of wine to go with your meal.

Reservations are necessary to make sure you get a table as the restaurant is quite popular; groups of friends, families, couples, this is a great place to have date night, spend some time with your loved ones or catch up with your friends. You can conveniently book your table through their website. The restaurant is divided into three parts, the "library" with a huge, wooden table and bookshelves on the walls, great for a large group; the main room, with the impressive bar area as well as a display of different hams and cheeses; and lastly, a small cozy room, next to the pizza oven, my favorite place in the restaurant. When booking my table I often ask to get one next to the pizza oven. It is simply so much fun to watch the pizzaïolo work, to see the fire burning and the sheer amount of mouth-watering pizzas going in and coming out of the oven.

Oggi e Domani is well-known for their charcuterie and cheeses, which play an important role on their menu. One stand out dish for me is their grilled bread appetizer with tomatoes, prosciutto and burrata. This has been one of the best plates of food I have had in a while and proves that indeed, great ingredients make great food. The warm, crisp bread goes well with the creamy cheese, the fresh tomatoes and the salty ham. Each component is of great quality and though the dish is quite simple it is simply delicious.

If you would like to sample their selection or maybe would like to share an appetizer with the whole table, try one of their boards of mixed meats and cheeses, such as prosciutto, salami, mortadella, ricotta and different hard cheeses as well as some artichoke hearts. If you are lucky, you will get some fresh piadina straight from the oven to go with.

One of the dishes that Oggi is known for is a creamy, cheesy pasta dish, flambeed with grappa and prepared right in front of you in a huge Parmesan wheel. This is a must-eat dish, the burned-of alcohol gives the dish a unique but not overpowering taste and the cheesy creaminess is out of this world.

I also very much enjoyed their rigatoni, cooked al dente, with their classic meaty sauce. You can taste that the sauce is homemade and cooked with care. If you are a bolognese lover, this will not disappoint you.

Of course, lasagna is a must have on the menu but it not one of their stand-out items. To be honest, there are so many exciting dishes on the menu that lasagna almost sounds boring to me. However, we did try it and it is still a good plate of food. It goes however light on the béchamel sauce, so don't be disappointed if that's what you are looking for, the flavorful sauce still makes up for that. Their carbonara is actually still on my "to-try" list but one thing I can assure you is, that they know how to cook pasta.

The risotto was a very positive surprise for me and proves once again that they have a great team in the kitchen, who know their trade. The risotto rice was perfectly cooked and still had a little bit of a bite to it, just like it's supposed to. They also got the balance between the basil and the cheese perfectly right because it is quite easy for the basil to become too overpowering. I also really like that they use Pecorino and not Parmesan cheese. Pecorino is a hard, Italian cheese, traditionally made with sheep milk and a bit saltier and deeper in flavour than its little brother Parmesan. I actually prefer Percorino to Parmesan, so this was a treat for me. The portion was huge and even with the help of Chris, I could not finish it. A smaller portion would have been absolutely sufficient, also because it is quite a heavy dish, delicious but still very rich, and you could easily end up overeating.

I already said, that the pizza oven is impressive and no wonder that their pizza ends up being something special. For us, this is the best pizza in Luxembourg. We have not found a pizza place which can keep up with Oggi, also because they do it just a bit differently. Their pizzas come closer to a Neapolitan style pizza with a thick, fluffy crust and a thin base. They also use, what I can only guess might be semolina or corn flour, to roll the stretched out pizza base in before topping it with just the right amount of sauce and toppings. This gives the dough the perfect crispness and chewiness.

You can't go wrong with any of the options on the menu but my guilty pleasure is to actually dip the pizza crust in the creamy Parmesan sauce of the Spaghetti in forma di Parmigiano Reggiano. Best of both worlds in one bite! I am also a fan of their Calabrese pizza, with nduja, a spicy pork sausage.

Whereas I have been raving about this restaurant to this point, now comes the part that was a bit disappointing for me and for which I ultimately had to subtract a point for their otherwise perfect performance. Their desserts, the once we have tried so far, have simply fallen short to the rest of the food which they put out.

Let's start with their "new interpretation" of a tiramisu. First, that is quite a courageous thing to do because it is just so easy to fail as the original dish puts the bar up way too high. Second, the aesthetic of this dish is just wrong for me. It reminds me more of a pile of something than an appetizing desert. Third, taste wise it could simply not keep up with the original recipe, though the cream was more a mousse and thus not so heavy. However, nothing beats a real tiramisu with a generous shot of amaretto.

Whereas they went all out to offer their customers a new, modern interpretation of a tiramisu, they went old school with their gourmet coffee. A gourmet coffee comes with a hot beverage of your choice, such as espresso, coffee or tea, and a selection of smaller dessert items, which can include anything from small chocolate cakes, little creme brullées, a scoop of ice cream, etc. In this case you got very old-fashioned, traditional Italian desserts, which were overly sweet, heavy and lacked individual flavours.

The prices are up to part with other Luxembourgian restaurant, nothing too shocking but some pasta dishes might just be a couple of Euros more expensive than what you might be used too. However, every penny is worth it. A shared starter, two mains, a shared dessert some water for the table and a nice bottle of wine will get you to around 100 Euros for two people. However, if you get a pizza and a soft drink or a glass of wine for yourself, you can easily get away with under 20 Euros.

If I can allow myself to make a recommendation, get a pizza, whichever you fancy most, as well as the Parmesan spaghetti, they are something special!

Oggi e Domani takes a contemporary approach to their cooking, putting a modern spin on some traditional dishes and highlighting great quality produce. This also translates into the decor of the restaurant and the service. They do it their own way, with style and class and it absolutely works. I am so happy that we gave Oggi e Domani a second chance as it quickly has become our go-to place for good Italian food, though they could step up their desert-game. Next time you are finding yourself craving pizza or pasta, come here, and you won't leave disappointed.