Norma
Tasting Sicily Enzo's Kitchen

Tasting Sicily Enzo's Kitchen

217 Maidstone Rd, Sidcup, United Kingdom, DA14 5AW

Kebab • Pasta • Coffee • Italian


"Our visit did not start well having arrived at exactly our booking time, were asked for name etc.. and then promptly ignored for 15 20 minutes by every single member of staff. Usually if a table is not ready you might be prompted to take a seat at the bar for a drink to relax but being left in limbo, by the front door, with no communication is not very nice. The barman also ignored us so... We were eventually seated after managing to get someone's attention. Ordering was fairly prompt and the food that came was OK. Not bad in anyway but also not particularly special. Some elements of the antipasti were very good. The pasta was cooked well and tasted nice but I can't rave about either dish. If you've been to Italy/Sicily or a good Italian restaurant elsewhere you know what I mean. By this point we didn't fancy staying for dessert but did order a coffee and a liquor coffee a coffee and a straight liquor arrived instead. The bill came and we had charged us for bread that had never arrived (the table next to us had also complained about that). On an increasingly rare opportunity for a date night I didn't think either was worth arguing about so paid and left. We came away feeling you might have to know the owner (who seems to be acting in a slightly odd front of house role) or be known enough to qualify for a picture for the wall (or Instagram for people who care about that) to get a decent service here. A shame and re reading some of the negative reviews I had seen before I can relate."

Paesan Crouch End

Paesan Crouch End

48C The Broadway, N8 9TP, Haringey, United Kingdom

Pasta • Italian • European • Vegetarian


"Excellent authentic Italian food, celebrating the best of artisan regional cooking in diverse ways. The ingredients are imported from Italy so you can really taste the difference. We started with Espresso Martini as our aperitivo and chose it with a twist; a hint of coconut it was the best one we've ever had! For small plates we had octopus carpaccio with pepper celery salad, and red golden beetroot salad with kohlrabi goats cheese. Both small plates were gorgeous and the flavours were mindblowing. We continued with bowls of fresh pasta: Norma di paesan (aubergines, stracciatella, pine nuts basil), Ragu di manzo (mafalde with slow roasted wild beef shin ragu) and Ravioli bicolore (crayfish, prawn mascarpone with a tomato bisque). These stunning pasta dishes had the real traditional Italian taste, so you felt like being in Italy. Paesan can also make gluten free pasta or gnocchi on request. We recommend pairing the dishes with one of the fabulous wines from the wine list that represents various regions of Italy. Our side, tenderstem broccoli with garlic almonds, was very tender and tasty. We ended our dinner with beautiful, irresistible Caprese (almond flour chocolate cake with mascarpone and strawberry sauce), mouth watering and warm Frittelle al pistacchio (mini doughnuts with shaved white chocolate), and Limoncello which was like a burst of sunshine in a glass. Paesan Crouch End has a nice atmosphere and the staff is wonderful, welcoming and very friendly. This is a charming restaurant with outstanding service and absolutely delicious five star food where the flavours sing."