Sicilian Cannoli Sicilian Cannoli
Portobello Garden

Portobello Garden

269B Portobello Road, London, W111LR, W11 1LL, United Kingdom

Cafés • Pasta • Pizza • Italian


"first thought when going in portobello garden arcade: we will really fit here. before they visit, foresight: the place is tiny, and fills quite quickly. when they wait for a table, they are condemned to stand outside; it could not be exactly what they hope, unless it is the middle of the summer. the good news is that they may not have to wait so long: this is a restaurant that attracts far larger quantities and queues when it was a bit bigger, or easier to see from the main road. at the moment it could be one of the best secrets of the portobello road; so well maintained, I recently discovered it, although I have lived in the opposite for three years. I visited the week before Christmas and found the place decorated with panettone and pandoro boxes everywhere. they even hang on the deck. woah', said the three colleagues with whom I was together, that is so pretty. woah', I said, are the ones for sale. I have turned my eyes off before the cake-yellow sandwiches have entered, but contradictory attempt is not an option in it: it was not long before I discovered the counter at the bottom of the room, where most of the if they are not hungry when they get in, they will be at the time they order./ encouraged by what I had just seen, I thought that I had the mozzarella, prosciutto, rakete and carasau brotplatte (simply, but fulfilling, a reliable favorit of me) or a shining, mozzarella and aubergine sandwich with promising. it was an ice age free day, but I went for a warm, hearty head: wild boar ravioli, from the daily special menu./ the ravioli came with much rich, smooth tomato sauce. they can hardly go wrong with pasta with sauce, but that was the superpowerful type. I could hardly taste the meat that felt disappointing, as the filling is the best part of a ravioli recipe for me. I loved the smoked ricotta dip, although: I don't often see that enough in london. I would smoke on all my pasta stuff if I could find a load that sells it. I should have asked where they come from, damned./ one of my colleagues ordered kartoffelgnocchi with bark meat ragù. he was impressed by the gnocchi; not so much with the spicing what he claimed to miss a kick. even from outside it looked overly rich in tomatenpassata and poor in bark. the meat was cut into large pieces, and, as I said, a bit too fat for a sauce ingredient./ another colleague ordered oktopussalat and was very happy with it. she can't eat gluten, so she gave us that side bread. we were fast to sneak it, and my enthusiasm over warm brot was quickly faded, as I realized it was garlic bread. I don't know who has spread the word that garlauchbrot is unmistakable italian, but that must stop now. Garlauchbrot is not a thing; simple brot that we can dive in olive oil (which is also on the menu, by the way), served with a kind of spread, ot is just eating on own faust, we rub garlic on bread, sometimes but that is to make bruschetta, which is a completely different thing. no more demanding Italian I know how garlic bread. some do not even know that it exists because they bless, they have never eaten the restitution of the British food./ total: portobello garden arcade makes more convincing eating than the average cheap Italian restaurant in london, but their dishes could be much closer to what they would actually eat in italia. I could be disappointed; I don't choose to be. I went for a decent, warm, hearty eating and got exactly that as well as a mood boost thanks to the warm, lively atmosphere of the restaurant. I wouldn't mind coming back and trying another court."

Luigi's Italian Ristorante

Luigi's Italian Ristorante

730 Chester Road Old Trafford Manchester, M32 0RS, United Kingdom

Beer • Wine • Pizza • Cafés


"I chose this restaurant for the area close to Old Trafford and the reviews were good. I had contacted the restaurant and they told me parking was free for customers.Even on match night. After parking my car I was rudely approached by an attendant who insisted I paid £10 to park, I was more than happy to pay but explained that we believed parking was free for customers. This matter was eventually cleared up with the restaurant reception, not the hotel reception. After seating in the restaurant, we were handed the menu, the choice was appauling, burger and chips, chilli and chips,steak and chips,gammon egg and chips.. There had been a change of management only 6 days before our visit. The skeleton staff could only do their best and we waited a long time to be served. We were told by the waitress there was a long wait for food , we decided to stay and wait as the only other option was to go to a local chippy or Tesco for takeaway food. The food was okay, and our visit made pleasant by the waitress who did her very best to make our visit more comfortable. When we returned to the carpark after the match our car was blocked in and we had to wait in the bar till the owner of the offending car returned, no big deal however but it did make our journey home incredibly late. Dispite what I had planned for a special occasion for a friend all going slightly wrong, we still had a good time."

Il Principe

Il Principe

82 Cowley Rd, Oxford, OX41JB, OX4 1JB, United Kingdom

Fish • Pizza • Delis • Pasta


"Il Principe Oxford, England. Authentic as pizza can get, Il Principe is well known amongst the locals and it should be better known to visitors. To thank the babysitter one day, there was a group decision for having pizza for dinner (what else to share? well, maybe fish and chips.. but where to go? After some negotiation and discussion, it was agreed upon for Il Principe. I had a cold at the time, so I stayed at the home base. From what I heard, the waiter there had a very strong Italian accent. Between six people, five pizza were ordered; quattro formaggi, vesuvio, napoli, parma and pesto Genovese. All five of them were good, for differing reasons some to varying degrees. By authentic, these pizzas had a thin base with few ingredients spread in a single and sparse layer on the pizza. This way, there is focus on the quality of the ingredients as well as the different flavours which contrast and interact. After this way, ideally there would not be going back to the pizza chains. For a four cheese pizza, the quattro formaggi was surpringly not overbearing. It was hard to detect the different types of cheese used but it was quite lovely to taste the different flavours. It would have been helpful if the menu told what the cheeses were to attempt detecting them better but it was a decent one, if the weakest of the lot. The vesuvio was advertised as hot underwhelming in that regard. Otherwise not bad, with a guaranteed dynamic of pepperoni, mushroom and chili oil. Parma was the surprise of the night, with the subtle flavours of parma ham and rocket mixed with the sharpness of parmaesan cheese. It was one that improved a second time around. The pesto genovese was pretty good, if a bit on the sloppy side. Tastes and ingredients here range from distinct and acquired to a bit strange for a pizza but the combination works exceptionally well. Finally, the winner of the night is the traditional and tried true napoli anchovies, olives and capers. Three salty and strong ingredients very familar to Italian cuisine. Combining these with good cheese and tomato and you have yourself a bone fide classic of Italian restaurants. This time was no exception. These pizzas were exceptional. I await going here on time, and anticipate eating their food. It is certain that I wish for a return."