Isola del Nord is one of the oldest western restaurants in Xi'an, tucked away in an office building in Xihuamen for ten years. Many Xi'an diners call it "Western Enlightenment Restaurant", which shows its status in the industry. Today, Xi'an has nearly 1,000 Western restaurants, large and small, but Isola del Nord is still popular.
Compared to previous restaurants, Isola del Nord is not very authentic and the quality of the ingredients used is not outstanding. For example, the beef used in the main course steak is all from the local Qinchuan beef, Qinchuan beef is one of the five major cattle breeds in China, with a plump physique, coarse and hard meat, even the tender filet part is much tougher than the Australian Wagyu beef and the American Angus steak. The main reason why the restaurant is ranked fourth is that it has a wide variety of dishes, and there are unique creations for each genre.
The appetizer is the Italian raw ham with fruit. The Italian Parma ham is as famous as the Spanish Iberian ham, both hams are fermented and air-dried, and they are eaten without cooking, and are known for being eaten raw. Isola del Nord is a thinly sliced raw ham served with cantaloupe, using sweet and juicy honeydew melon to balance the saltiness of the dried ham without overshadowing its deliciousness.
Among the main dishes, chicken fufu pen-shaped macaroni is the most popular among Xi'an diners. This pasta has undergone a drastic reform on the basis of the original meat sauce noodles, adding a lot of dried chili peppers and vinegar, and the whole plate of noodles is sour and spicy, which is exactly the taste that the people of Xi'an like. The dessert tiramisu has also been improved. While the traditional tiramisu is topped with coffee-soaked biscuits, cream, mousse and cocoa powder, Isola del Nord replaces the biscuits with sponge cakes, leaving the coffee and rum in liquid form, and the whole cake is moist and slightly bitter.
Isola del Nord has been in business for many years and the owner is also involved in the liquor business, so the restaurant also serves almost 100 kinds of wine. Two of the wines are a collaboration between the restaurant and South Africa's Two Oceans, both named after the restaurant: Isola del Nord white wine, fresh and fruity; Isola del Nord red wines have a deep red colour and soft tannins. Both drinks are worth tasting. Every day for dinner, there is also an all-you-can-drink event of 4 kinds of wine for 120 yuan, which is more cost-effective.
Isola del Nord is located in a historic office building with an old exterior that is open to the public. Dark brown wood and antique brass are full of age, and emerald velvet drapery and Renaissance-style round arches are a perfect expression of petty bourgeoisie. The service staff is proper and thoughtful, and can make timely recommendations for customers, and the needs of customers can basically be met.
