A family celebration at Al Boccon di'vino in Richmond

A few weeks ago my family got together at Al Boccon di'vino in Richmond to celebrate my step-grandmother's 80th birthday. A cosy, traditionally-decorated Italian bistro, Al Boccon di'vino is well-known for its decadent multi-course Venetian feasts, and our 20-strong party spent the best part of an afternoon gorging on a never-ending stream of delicious Italian dishes.

There was some disagreement surrounding the number of courses (somewhere between 10 and 13 in total!) but it was unarguably some of the best Italian food I've had in London. There's no menu - instead the chef decides what to serve based on the seasonal produce he has to hand and his own inspiration. Everything is brought over as it's ready, and with plenty of shared dishes (and second helpings if you want them) it feels more like a dinner party than a formal restaurant meal.

We sat down to baskets of crusty Italian bread and plates of paper-thin Parma ham, and whet our appetites on miniature crostini smeared with pungent Parmesan spread while we waited for everyone to arrive. Once we were all seated, the courses began to appear: first up, a delicious minestrone soup; flavourful broth crammed with an assortment of colourful al dente vegetables.

Next came a delicate salad - a fresh, summery pairing of asparagus, melon, pomegranate seeds and sweet Sicilian olives - followed by a platter of mixed antipasti (aubergine parmiagana, potato fritters, braised fennel, and two types of quiche-like egg and vegetable tarts).

As we worked our way through the assortment of savoury treats the waitresses came round with slices of fried mozzarella (seared golden brown and oozing seductively onto our plates), before serving up a variety of tasty seafood dishes - king prawns in an flavourful tomato sauce; steamed razorclams; clams cooked with white wine and fresh herbs; and a beautiful scallop which - cooked in its shell and drenched in a rich garlic butter - was one of the highlights of my meal.

Already full to bursting, we moved on to the pasta courses: freshly made egg tagliatelle, served with a rich cream sauce and sprinkled with a liberal helping of salty Parmesan, followed by cheese-stuffed ravioli in a tomato passata. Both were fantastic.

Next - and with some fanfare - the waitresses brought out a huge haunch of lamb, accompanied with heaping platters of rosemary roasted potatoes. Most of us didn't have much room at this point, but my teenage brothers and cousins still got stuck in!

The meal finished on a lighter note, with fresh berries and creamy vanilla panna cotta, followed by coffees and dessert wine - a lovely close to a very memorable meal.

At only £60 each (including wine), Al Boccon di'vino represents incredibly good value given the quality of the food and the experience - you would barely get three courses at a middling restaurant for the same price in Central London - and is the perfect place for celebrations. I'm already trying to think of an excuse to go back!

Happy 80th Pat!

Taberna Etrusca

A few weeks ago I moved jobs, and with lots of people to say goodbye to at my old firm, my final weeks included an impressive number of leaving lunches. One of these was at Taberna Etrusca, just off Bow Churchyard, where my friends and I took advantage of a set lunch menu offering two courses of tasty Italian fare for £17.

To start, we were given a choice between minestrone soup, Insalata Caprese (aka buffalo mozzarella and tomato salad), or pan-fried chicken livers with shallots, pancetta and mushrooms. Aside from me, everyone went for the salad, which looked very good: plump slices of mozzarella atop a fan of sliced tomato, all drizzled with concentric rings of tasty vinaigrette.

My minestrone soup was slightly less photogenic than the salad, but still tasted pretty good. A thinner, less tomato-based soup than I would usually associate with minestrone, this consisted of a (slightly over-salted) clear broth packed with finely chopped vegetables - a light yet warming start to the meal.

For the main course there was fresh tagliatelle with a creamy smoked salmon and baby spinach sauce, pork escalope with asparagus and cream gratin and mashed potato, or pan-fried haddock with a cherry tomato, caper and canellini bean sauce.

Two of us opted for the fish; three flaky haddock fillets in a pool of tomatoey stew. The sauce was good - crammed with sweet cherry tomatoes, tart capers and tasty canellini beans - but, as with the minestrone, it was slightly too heavily salted for my liking.

The two remaining members of our party went for the pork and the salmon options. The pork escalope was highly praised: served with a generous portion of mashed potatoes and drenched in a rich asparagus cream, it did look very good!

The smoked salmon and baby spinach tagliatelle also went down well, and is something I may attempt to recreate at home (cook fresh pasta for 2 minutes, drain, stir in cream, smoked salmon, and baby spinach leaves...and you're done!).

All in all, it was a lovely lunch, and somewhere I will definitely come again - although I wouldn't recommend it if you're in a rush!

Dinner at Polpo and cocktails at the Zetter Townhouse

I had been meaning to go to Polpo for so long that it was starting to become a bit of a joke (especially considering that the Farringdon branch lies a mere 10 minutes from my flat). So I was very glad to finally get an excuse to try it out the other week on double date with my brother and his girlfriend.

Situated on a side-street just across from Smithfields meat market, the restaurant has a great atmosphere - dimly lit, but not overly so, with a nice bar and a cosy dining area. We started off with drinks at the bar, before moving to a snug table in the corner of the restaurant. Polpo has a fantastic menu - everything is designed to be shared (my favourite way of eating) and while the availability of house wine in litre bottles was reminiscent of my uni years*, the quality of the food definitely wasn't.

We began our meal with a selection of cicheti (traditional Venetian-style tapas). Unable to decide between the array of tempting dishes on offer, we ordered a couple of sampling plates and tried everything. The eggplant and Parmesan involtini were excellent - silky slivers of aubergine wrapped around gooey cheese and salty Parmesan - but my surprise favourite had to be the arancini. These balls of rice, rolled in breadcrumbs and deep fried, may sound like a grease/carb overload, but were actually delicious and unexpectedly light; a creamy risotto-like interior in a crisp golden shell. The crostini, spread with anchovy and chickpea puree, were also delicious - the combination of salty anchovy and earthy chickpea was fantastic - and the potato and Parmesan crocchette were predictably tasty. Even the more challenging pairings - grilled fennel & white anchovy and the pickled cauliflower & fennel salami - worked well, and the four of us polished off the plate with ease.

Next to arrive was a platter of mixed seafood (deep-fried calamari, king prawns in their shell, and juicy chunks of white fish, all coated in a light golden batter) and two orders of meatballs - beef & pork and lamb & mint. Tender and meaty, and served with a richly flavoured tomato sauce, these went perfectly with our side of creamy cauliflower gratin.

We only ordered one pizzette between the four of us, but I would have happily eaten more - it was delicious! A much lighter take on pizza, with a thin, perfectly crisp flat-bread base, our Fiorentina featured a heavenly melding of wilted spinach, gooey mozarella and soft-cooked egg, all dusted with a generous sprinkling of Parmesan shavings. Yum.

For the meat course we shared sliced flank steak with rocket and white truffle cream, chicken involtini, layered with pancetta and flavoured with sweet balsamic vinegar, a dish of tasty chilli and garlic prawns, and a side of rosemary roasted potatoes (which made a surprisingly strong go at stealing the show).

The desserts were also fantastic. The panacotta - a delectable blend of vanilla, rhubarb, and pistachio - was one of the best I've had: rich, creamy and sumptously smooth, punctuated with juicy chunks of jewel-toned rhubarb and nutty slivers of green pistachio. The ice cream** - a scoop each of sweet vanilla and intense dark chocolate - was excellent, and the chocolate salami - crammed with nuts, chocolate, and chunks of biscuit and served in fat, crumbling slices - was also delicious.

After our meal, we headed North to the Zetter Townhouse. This elegant townhouse - filled with elegant sofas and carefully selected antique furniture - has the same homely-yet-exclusive feel as a Mayfair member's club, and boasts an impressive cocktail menu. We sampled the Master at Arms (rum, port and grenadine), Les Fleurs du Mal (rose vodka, lemon juice, and a hint of absinthe) and the Red Grape Kir Royale (red grape cordial with Perrier Jouet champagne). The cocktails were slightly too strong for my liking (I'm a raspberry mojito kind of girl, embarassingly enough), but the others enjoyed theirs, and they were 'manly' enough to keep the boys happy. A great place to end the night...

A boxing kangaroo - the perfect accompaniment to 'manly' cocktails

*Not in how it tasted, I hasten to add! Just in terms of serving size...
**This is usually served as one scoop in a cone, but we skipped the cone and had an extra scoop of ice-cream in its place

A laid-back brunch at Osteria Dell'Arte in Clapham

The other weekend I cycled down to Clapham for a long overdue catch-up with my original "brunch buddy". She used to live just down the road from me in Angel, but since she upped sticks and moved South London, our brunching has become (tragically) less frequent, and it was lovely to get together again.

We're both big fans of Bread Etcetera (unlimited bread to toast at your table, what more could you want?) but unfortunately 11.30am on a Saturday is not the best time to visit, and the queue was already snaking out of the door when we got there. Instead, we crossed the road to another great brunch spot - the Osteria Dell'Arte.

Bright and airy inside, with high ceilings, a glass roof, and - impressively - a large tree, you can almost imagine you're eating outside (although without the icy temperatures and intermittent drizzle of a British winter). White walls and colourful arty accents complete the fresh, zesty vibe.

The breakfast menu - despite the Italian make-over - offers a fairly classic selection of brunch-time favourites, from smoked salmon scrambled eggs to omelette. I went for the All'Inglese (aka the full English), while my friend opted for the Uovo Benedict.

The full English wasn't the largest I've had - in fact it was positively diminuitive in comparison to some of the behemoth breakfasts I've had - but despite my inital disappointment it was still delicious, and actually did fill me up (my eyes are often bigger than my belly!)

A neat stack of bacon, mushrooms, grilled tomato, sausage and beans were topped with a perfectly fried egg: everything was good, but the spicy Italian sausage and the home-made baked beans were particularly delicious. The large squeezy bottle of Sainsbury's own brand ketchup was a homely touch - no fancy home-made ketchup here! - and despite being a total Heinz snob (if you can actually call someone who smothers everything in ketchup a snob) it was actually pretty tasty!

My friend's Eggs Benedict was also good, with plenty of ham and a generous drizzling of golden hollandaise. Along with our food we had couple of teas (and a nice long chat) before going for a wander around Clapham (which ended up with us both accidentally buying uneccesary accessories from a cute little boutique around the corner...oops!).

To conclude, Osteria Dell'Arte is a lovely spot: next time you're shivering away in the queue for Bread Etcetera, maybe you should pop across the road instead!

Tasty pizza at Santore, Exmouth Market

Another gem on Exmouth Market, Santore serves up some of the best pizza around. I went there for lunch the other week with my boyfriend and his mum, and (as on previous visits) was impressed by the fantastic food, friendly service, and very reasonable prices*.

 Look at that beautiful base!

The pizzas are pretty large, so while my boyfriend went solo with a napoletana, Jane and I decided to split a quattro stagioni pizza and the melanzane parmiagana (from the starter menu).

The pizzas were excellent, getting high marks in all four 'tastiness' criteria:

1) Cheese - plenty of ooey-gooey good quality mozzarella - tick
2) Tomato sauce - smooth, zingy, and super-fresh - tick again
3) Toppings - all delicious, with plenty of different combinations available - tick
4) Base - perfection, hitting that sweet spot between doughy/crisp and thick/thin bang on - TICK!

 Two 'seasons' of a quattro stagioni pizza (not the easiest pizza to share!)

The aubergine dishes are pretty amazing here too, and our melanzane parmiagana starter was gorgeous (and - for the record - huge): layers of tender aubergine, tangy tomato passata, and melted mozzarella garnished with fresh basil and salty parmesan...mmmm. Last time I came here I made the mistake of following the melanzane pamiagana with an aubergine, tomato and mozzarella pasta, and the resultant aubergine overload slightly marred my recollection of the dish, but it really is excellent.

In conclusion, Santore is a great little place: the food is delicious, while the laid-back atmosphere means it is as perfect for a lively Italian-style family dinner as for a relaxed pre-theatre meal a deux**.

 Tucking in :)

*It's hard to justify the extortionate prices charged by takeaway joints (Dominos, Papa Johns, I'm looking at you!) when you can get pizza this good for a mere £7

**Before heading to the ballet at nearby Saddlers Wells...very civilised!

Lasagne soup

I love lasagne, but it's not something I usually have time to make after a full day at work...

...so when I saw this lasagne soup on Sweet Basil, I knew I had to give it a try. Meaty, tomato-ey, and packed with chunks of melting mozzarella, this quick, no-fuss recipe is a great way of satisfying your craving without spending hours in the kitchen.

The concept is pretty simple - make a basic Bolognese sauce (beef mince, tomato passata, maybe some red wine), throw in some pasta (most recipes call for broken up sheets of lasagne - I didn't have any left, so I used fresh tortellini instead), and finish everything off with chunks of fresh mozzarella and a heavy dusting of Parmesan. Delicious.

My version is quite different from the original, and if you have your own tried-and-tested recipe for Bolognese, feel free to substitute it in to the recipe below.

Ingredients (makes two huge bowls, or four smaller ones)

1 lb of extra lean beef mince
700g tomato passata
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Handful of basil leaves, roughly shredded
1tbsp tomato puree
A few glugs of red wine
Hot water, to thin out the sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Half a packet of fresh tortellini (OR a few sheets of dried lasagne, broken into pieces)
1 ball mozzarella cheese, cut into chunks
Parmesan and more basil leaves, to serve

Fry your mince in a large frying pan. Depending on the size of the pan, it may be best to do this in batches to allow the meat to brown properly. Meanwhile, add tomato passata, crushed garlic, basil leaves, tomato puree and red wine to a large saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Once browned, add your mince to the tomato sauce, and cook everything together on a medium-low heat for about 15 minutes.

Season your sauce with salt and pepper to taste, and add the tortellini. The sauce should be liquid enough to cover the pasta - if not, add some hot water to make it more 'soupy'. Leave everything to simmer for another 4 minutes or so (depending on the cooking instructions for the tortellini), before stirring in three quarters of your mozzarella cubes.

Divide the lasagne soup into bowls, and scatter with the remaining mozzarella, more shredded basil, and a good sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Serve and enjoy!

An amazing birthday meal at Bocca di Lupo

A friend from work recommended Bocca di Lupo to me over a year ago, but for some reason I never got around to trying it out. When I finally ended up going there for my birthday meal a few weeks back, I was treated to one of the best meals I've had in London. Now I'm already planning my next visit (and kicking myself for not going there sooner), and for anyone who hasn't been, all I can say is...GO!

Bocca di Lupo offers a very traditional Italian dining experience: dishes are brought to your table in a near continuous stream of individual courses, and everyone tucks in together. It's a very social, relaxed way of eating, and because you don't get everything at once you are really able to appreciate the individual components of your meal. In addition to the delicious food, the service was exemplary - the friendly, efficient waitstaff really added to our enjoyment of our meal - and the atmosphere was great too: stylish yet somehow cozy and intimate at the same time.

Upon our arrival we had to wait 10 minutes or so for our table to become free, despite being on time. I suppose this is partly my fault for having my birthday a week before Christmas, as the restaurant was very busy with Christmas parties and the like! However,  the girl on the front desk was lovely, and more than made up for the inconvenience by getting us each a glass of prosecco, on the house.

Our meal got off to a good start, with a helping of those beautiful, vividly green Puglian olives (firm flesh; fresh, tangy, almost nutty flavour) that you are starting to see more and more nowadays, and a bread basket accompanied by a dish of fantastic olive oil.

Bocca di Lupo has an extensive menu, split into sections according to course and method of preparation (raw and cured or fritti antipasti; pasta; boiled, grilled or roasted meats...), and in an attempt to try dishes from as many categories as possible, we ordered a huge amount of food. First to arrive were the buffalo mozzarella bocconcini from the fritti romani menu. We chose these over tempting treats such as the deep-fried artichoke alla giudia, pork and veal mince-stuffed olives, and suppli (deep-fried risotto balls), and were not disappointed.

Despite what one may expect from a dish consisting of deep-fried cheese, the bocconcini were not at all greasy - in fact they were surprisingly light, with a delicate coating of golden breadcrumbs and a beautifully gooey mozzarella centre.

We also ordered a couple of the grilled scallops (at £10 each these were a bit pricey, but it was a special occasion!). The two enormous scallops - tender sweet, and obscenely plump - were served in their shell, and doused in an incredible thyme butter sauce...wow.

Mindful of the need to save room for dessert, we decided to share only one dish from the pasta menu, and settled upon the tajarin (a brilliantly yellow, egg-rich pasta) with duck egg yolk and Parmesan, which we garnished with 1g of white truffle (you can add as much as you want - however, at £9 a gram we thought just a hint of truffle would be enough, and to be honest, it was plenty).

This was lovely - the heady flavour of the truffle infused into the rich, golden sauce, and paired perfectly with the strands of eggy tajarin. However, I would probably go for one of the other pasta dishes next time - the oriechette with 'nduja sausage, red onion and tomato perhaps, or the intriguing pumpkin and amaretti risotto - something a bit more adventurous than what, at the end of the day, could be described as a very fancy bacon-less carbonara.

For the meat course, my boyfriend selected the roast partridge. Moist and flavourful, and exuding delicious meaty juices, this served as an exotic alternative to chicken without being overly gamey.

Meanwhile I went for the grilled gilthead sea bream with rocket and lemon. The fish was seriously good, with crisp skin and tender, juicy flesh. Served with only a slice of lemon and a handful of oil-dressed rocket leaves, it was an incredibly simple dish, but the perfect execution and fantastic quality of the ingredients turned it into something really special.

We ordered two side dishes with our meat and fish course; the four cheese taragna polenta (Taleggio, Parmesan, Gorgonzola and Asiago) and a serving of caponata (without anchovies).

The polenta was fabulous - I don't normally like blue cheese, but the strong flavour of Gorgonzola really mellows with cooking, and this was delicious. Cheesy and rich, with an incredible velvety texture, it was particularly good with the meaty partridge.

Sadly the caponata failed to live up to my (admittedly very high) expectations. I ate some amazing caponata on holiday in Sicily a couple of years ago and have been craving it ever since. I had been hoping Bocca di Lupo may be the place to finally satisfy that craving (and with the procession of consistently flawless courses, my hopes climbed ever higher), but sadly it was not to be. This was slightly too oily, with an overwhelming celery flavour, and didn't quite achieve the delicate sweet/sour balance I enjoyed so much in the Sicilian version...Oh well!

Despite the high standard set by the earlier courses, the dessert was by far the highlight of the meal for me. Having observed the next table receiving their sweet course, I knew I wanted to try the zabaione, an Italian custard-like delicacy made from egg yolks, sugar, and Marsala wine.

Ladles of exquisite golden custard are spooned from a copper bowl over your choice of base. At the neighbouring table, one diner received an enormous (plate-sized, 3-inch thick) slice of what appeared to be lightly toasted panettone. Despite the oohs and ahhs this elicited when it was being served, he struggled to finish (eventually leaving most of the cake), and I felt this option would be better saved for another night...and perhaps shared between 3 or 4 people!

Instead I went for the pear poached in red wine as the base for my zabaione. Served warm, the combination of flavours was simply incredible - a heavenly melding of mellow pear, sweet red wine syrup, and rich golden zabaglione.

My boyfriend ordered the trio of "lucky dip" gelato cones - with ice cream from the celebrated Gelupo gelateria across the road. This was very good, but totally overshadowed by the flamboyant arrival of my zabaglione!

It wasn't a cheap meal...but then, it was my birthday: we ate a lot, ordered some pricier dishes from the menu, and had a bottle of prosecco too. Most things on the menu are actually pretty reasonable, and there's a great lunch and pre-theatre menu too. With so many dishes still to try (and with my newly discovered thirst for zabaione) I'll be going back at the next possible opportunity. In the meantime, I'm recommending it to everyone I know.