Veal With Tuna Sauce Veal With Tuna Sauce
Spring

Spring

Somerset House, New Wing Lancaster Place London, WC2R 1LA, WC2E 7EN, United Kingdom

Italian • British • Vegetarian • Contemporary


"The space is really lovely. While we waited for some of our party to arrive, we sat in the tree lined atrium, which has a sky light and beautiful tactile plasterwork resembling leaf veins. The main room is also light and airy, with charming installations of drifting porcelain leaves along the walls. We came for lunch, and I imagine both rooms to be at their most attractive during daylight hours. While waiting with drinks we were served good olives and outstanding smoked almonds sprinkled with fried rosemary and coarse salt. I started with gnudi with spinach and sage butter. Nice simple sauce of lemon and butter, but I would have preferred the sage to be a little more fried so that it lost a little more astringency. Buttery sauteed spinach was delicious. My main was panfried sea bream with turnip greens, jerusalem artichokes with a garnish of cooked tomato and olive salsa. The fish was perfectly cooked with a crispy skin. The sweet sauteed jerusalem artichokes were my favourite part of the dish. Lunch was pleasant, and all the cooking was very well executed. However, besides the smoked almonds at the bar, nothing about my food was particularly exciting. Perhaps I am starting to suffer from a jaded palate. Service was knowledgeable and gracious. Although we did sense a touch of disdain when some of us ordered downmarket limoncello at the end of our meal instead of dessert."

Cacciari's Restaurant Sth Kensington - Old Brompton Rd

Cacciari's Restaurant Sth Kensington - Old Brompton Rd

United Kingdom, SW7 3LQ, London

Pasta • Pizza • Steak • Indian


"My wife and I were down in London to see a show and stayed over in Hammersmith and I'd found this place beforehand and had booked a table and good job I had, every table was taken and they were turning people away all evening. We shared the pizza focaccia bread to start, which was lovely, soft and warm and served with olive oil and balsamic, to dip into. My wife then had the seafood tagliolini dish and said it was the best pasta dish she's ever had and she loves pasta and regularly has it when we got out, so that is high praise. The prawns were proper big and meaty and the crab soft and she said every mouthful was a fishy taste sensation. Often with this type of dish the primary taste is tomatoes and the fish plays second fiddle but not here. I had the fillet steak in a peppercorn sauce with rosemary potatoes and a rocket and parmesan salad. I'd asked for my steak medium and it was spot on, cooked to perfection. Peppercorn sauce probably wouldn't be my first choice (blue cheese would) but this sauce was lovely, yes it had peppercorns in it but it was a hint, not overwhelming and detracting from the steak. The rosemary potatoes were lovely too and whilst a rocket and parmesan salad might be a simple dish and difficult to get wrong, it is possible but this was great too and went perfectly with my meal. My only slight criticism, and I haven't marked them down over it, as that would be unfair, because the meal was good, is that my Cacciari's handcrafted beer wasn't cold enough, barely cold even and it needed to be, so a tip for them, try to make sure your beer is cold. My glass of Chiaretto Del Garda on the other hand, was perfectly chilled and quaffable. Also, the service was impeccable, attentive but not intrusive, just how it should be. We've commented to ourselves about restaurants before, that those that seem to have a maitre d or someone who just has that all seeing eye, are so good and stand out from the crowd, well done. Would I go again, too right I would, would I recommend it, without hesitation but make sure you book. Dined 25th November."

Essenza

Essenza

210 Kensington Park Road Notting Hill Gate London, W11 1NR, 03710, United Kingdom

Pasta • Pizza • Italian • Seafood


"The cook should hang his hat up and move on. Everything was frozen not fresh, garlic prawns were smelly and the chef must have known this as he tried to disguise the smell by smothering paprika all over it! Gambas al ajillo is one of my fav dishes and I order it a lot, never seen it served like this before so it leads me to believe he was covering up the bad smell. We didn’t eat the dish and the barely awake waiter didn’t bother to ask why we didn’t eat it, just took it away. Calamari al andaluz was dry, rubbery 100% pre fried then frozen then refried. Horrible. We told sleepy, (our waiter) that we would be sharing the starters and he smiled and said ok, like I was asking for his permission, no side plates, nothing. We were all eating out of the plates in the center of the table. The mains spaghetti bolognese (bolognese from a tin tastes better! Pasta dry crunchy in places, the pizza hard as a rock with no authenticity at all but worst of all was the mustard chicken!!! Vomit worthy!!! Chucks of re heated chicken, some pieces cooked but still cold in the middle smothered in this onion mustard concoction that looked like slimy mucus! Absolutely inedible, we did not touch it. Of course the servers just took it away without even asking as if they knew if they asked it was going to be bad. Taking advantage of unsuspecting tourists like this is just not on. Absolutely rubbish,"