UK Masterchef host Gregg Wallace says he once heard this pearl of wisdom on the radio: ‘French food at its best shows the genius of the chef. Italian food at its best shows the genius of God.’ The reliance on excellent produce in Italian kitchens means that, unless they’re working with top-notch resources, the country’s national cuisine will fail to inspire. So many aspiring ristoranti in Beijing fall flat due to their attempts to disguise, say, a flavourless tomato sugo with an indigestible mound of cheap cheese.

Impasto Pizza, just off Guozijian, seems keen to get back to basics. The open kitchen offers a limited menu that seems keen to cash in on the lunch-hour tourist crowd wandering past the Confucius Temple, plus maybe the odd hutong hipster. Sitting in the deserted dining area, breathing in the scent of the potted osmanthus trees, we ignored the sandwiches and burgers to focus on the Italian fare. Impasto would be the ideal place for a quiet working lunch, and the russet tones and naked wood are a nice change of pace from Beijing’s standard whitewashed interiors. The huge earthen pizza oven keeps the space pleasantly cosy, though an imperfect ventilation system runs the risk of headaches come the summer heat.

Our appetiser was Impasto’s signature salad (58RMB). The juicy prosciutto, savoury parmesan and delectable drizzles of top-notch balsamic dressing, not to mention the perfectly soft-boiled eggs, were absolutely pitch perfect when tossed with mixed bitter leaves, and really got us in the mood for our entrées. The ‘arugula’ (rocket) pizza (62RMB) was everything a properly stone-baked pie should be – thin but not shard-like, crisp on the bottom but soft up top, and with just enough topping to taste wholesome without the entire affair being drowned in competing flavours. The tagliatelle with oxtail sugo (68RMB) was less inspiring. The meat’s melting sinews, and the toothsome texture of the fresh pasta, lost out to overgenerous dried oregano – a flavour poorly set in a dish otherwise so lovingly prepared.

The dessert menu offers few truly Italian offerings: American-style cheesecake, Gallic opera cake and crème brûlée (either British or French depending on who you ask) are the obvious mainstays. We settled on the tiramisu (42RMB) – at least it’s really Italian – and the brûlée (48RMB). The former was rather dainty on the base and seemed puny, though it had a light, fresh whipped mascarpone cheese. The brûlée, on the other hand, was an overdressed mess, topped with sliced canned peach and a too-frugal amount of fresh vanilla.

Impasto is still finding its feet, but there is plenty to recommend – careful service, well-prepared and toothsome food and a bright but intimate ambience. A wine menu that is both limited and restricted to bottle purchases knocks off a few points. However, a few tweaks here and there could make this unassuming trattoria a hutong institution.

Jack Smith

Details

Open

10am-10pm daily

Telephone 6401 8779

English address 40 Guozijian Jie, Dongcheng district

Chinese address 东城区国子监街40号