All posts tagged: italian

Diciannove

Published by

What Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar near Blackfriars. Experience Diciannove is an Italian restaurant situated on the ground floor of the Crowne Plaza hotel in Blackfriars. Formerly known as Refetorrio, the restaurant has reopened with a refurb and the addition of a new deli and so I went along to try it out. This was my first time eating around Blackfriars and I have to say that I was slightly dubious about what I could expect from a hotel restaurant. Unsurprisingly, the place has a very international feel and was littered with business suits and hotel guests but we were settled in to our own cosy corner by the lovely waitress and left to look over the extensive all-Italian wine menu. This made us feel right at home. During the evening there is a 3-course menu and our selections included the spaghettini all’ astice (fresh lobster, Pigato thyme and fresh tomato), filatto di manzo (beef fillet, potatoes tortino, sautéed leeks and veal sauce) and mozzarella di bufala (Buffalo mozzarella, roasted balsamic beetroot, mixed leaves and beetroot …

Capish? at The Hat and Tun

Published by

What Launch of Italian-American style street food Capish? at The Hat and Tun for two weeks in February. They will be serving their 3 most popular dishes from Wed 17th – Fri 19th and Wed 24th – Fri 26th between 5.30pm and 9pm. Where Hat and Tun, Hatton Wall, Farringdon Experience After watching the final episode of Sopranos last week, I was bewildered and ratty, and felt, suddenly, very alone. So when I received the invite to try the new Italian-American pop up menu at Hat and Tun, I figured that this was just the event I needed to stop me from comfort eating chorizo and to ease me back into some sort of a normal life. Capish?, a street food company based in Hackney, have been trading their take on Italian-American classics on Roman Road market since 2012. They use locally sourced, sustainable ingredients to create what Londonist declared to be, the “best meatballs in London”.  Oh marone! I really like the Hat and Tun as it’s cosy and they sell good beer, so …

Carluccio’s Launches Spring/Summer Menu

Published by

Where Carluccio’s, Garrick Street, London What The infamous Italian restaurant chain, Carluccio’s, has launched a new spring / summer menu so I was invited along to the Garrick Street restaurant, near Covent Garden, to celebrate. Experience It was a sunny afternoon at the beginning of spring when I made my way to meet my friend Alice outside Carluccio’s. Sun seekers had already filled the outdoor tables, sipping on ice cold white wine, enjoying the hottest day of the year. We were lead up a grand, spiral staircase which lead to a private dining room, and presented with an offering of a prosecco cocktail – yes please. The prosecco was lightly quenched with limonchello and made an uncomfortably warm girl instantly revived. The Garrick Street Carluccio’s is housed inside an historic London building with tall ceilings and whiter-than-white painted walls. It hosts a bar and dining area over two floors, along with a private dining room and of course the infamous Carluccio’s deli. In the far corner were the guys from Peroni working their magic shaking …

Toto’s Restaurant, South Kensington

Published by

Where Toto’s Restaurant, South Kensington What Toto’s is an elegant Italian restaurant in Knightsbridge offering contemporary authentic dishes.   Housed in the beautiful Grade-II listed Walton House, the restaurant reopened recently after an extensive two year refurbishment. A sleek bar serving Italian inspired cocktails, an intimate mezzanine overlooking the dining room which boasts a large fire place and a beautiful hidden courtyard perfect for the summer months makes it well worth the two year wait. Experience Having heard some great things about Toto’s, my sister Hilary and I decided to go for dinner a few weeks ago for a good old catch up and to see what everyone had been talking about. Even with the good reviews, we couldn’t have anticipated how incredible our evening was going to be. Upon arrival we were taken downstairs and seated at our lovely table next to the window which overlooked the courtyard. The ceiling is incredibly high so its no wonder the restaurant has a beautiful mezzanine, perfect for private dining. I also couldn’t help but notice the large …

Valentina Fine Foods, Chiswick

Published by

Where Valentina Fine Foods, Chiswick What Valentina Fine Foods is an Italian delicatessen and restaurant group owned and run by the Zoccola and Arcari families. The original Valentina opened in East Sheen in 1991, followed by Putney, Sevenoaks, Notting Hill Gate and finally Chiswick, which opened in October 2014.  The Experience You enter the restaurant on Chiswick High Road through a delicatessen filled with a huge range of Italian delicacies such as pastas, cheese, cured meats, olives, pastries, traditional antipasti, and olive oils (including an own-label olive oil in a large stainless steel barrel with a tap, where customers are encouraged to bring their own bottle for refill). If you can pull yourself away from this initial enticement, and up a few small steps, you will find the Valentina restaurant at the top. A charming photo wall of the various family members looks over the dining area and a classic Moto Guzzi Lodola motorbike hangs from the right wall – an item I am told is found in many of the Valentina restaurants. Manager Carmine …