Helen's reviews
Review of Say Pasta
10 Mar 08, 10:24
Say No! 
It looked great from the outside; cheap, quick and easy food that through the window looked pretty faultless. I think it was the fact that I spied a huge strawberry sundae that a diner in the window was consuming that made me want to eat at this place so badly.
However as we entered and were seated next to the sundae eater I had that all too familiar feeling of 'oh no we have made a dud choice here'. The ice cream eaters were complaining about the ice cream to the waiter, babies were screaming and the air con was on so high the napkins were blowing in the wind!
So my line of thought was ' it will be fine, people next to us are just being over fussy'. The service was fairly quick and the staff were trying but they were not attentive enough - other diners around us were becoming agitated, and this is quite off putting when attempting to eat. I found myself playing a game of who is going to lose their cool with the waiter next?
All that aside, our starter of a bread board with olives was nice, tasted fresh and the the mains followed suit, nice pasta, possibly a little too creamy (bit of an over kill).By this point we were feeling pretty smug that we had managed to escape whatever it was that was annoying everyone else so much - but then came pudding!
This place is relatively famous for it's great ice cream offerings, and not having had an ice cream sundae in about 5 years I took the plunge and ordered their strawberry one and my fellow diner the chocolate.
They arrived quickly, looked and tasted great that was until I delved deeper into mine and found two giant black hairs embedded in the ice cream (I have to point out this it a nightmare situation for me that often induces a reasonable amount of gagging). I restrained this time, hailed the waitress and told her to take all puddings off the bill - they were apologetic, but not hugely bothered.
Paid the bill and got as far away from the place as possible! Never again - crazy, unorganized eatery that makes me shiver just thinking about it!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Review of Il Bacio
28 Jan 08, 16:49
Perfect Pizza! 
This places serves up some seriously authentic pizza. Not only is it authentic, it is also huge and amazingly tasty.
The restaurant it's self is very rustic and totally European - a million miles away from clinical minimal dinning - but in a good way. I went on a Saturday lunchtime, it does get rather busy and cramped with push chairs and prams, however if you don't mind sitting with the kids it makes for an enjoyable lunch.
As it was a lunch I opted to miss a starter and went straight for the main - a pizza. However I was pleasantly surprised when the waiter bought over complimentary fresh marinated olives and crispy flat bread to nibble. I was even more impressed when, my boyfriend and I finished this off and they replaced it! Good Service and lovely to get something for nothing in London.
Back to the pizza, after much 'urrmming' and 'aahhrring' over the menu I spotted a pizza with sweetcorn on a went for it. I am a big fan or sweetcorn on pizza's and you never seem to get it any more? When it arrived it was the size of two pizza's anywhere else and the base was fluffy, packed with air and crisped to perfection.
I could only manage half of mine, however they are understanding and box up your remains and lovingly send you on your way. The bill was a nice surprise too, £26 for two amazing pizzas and 2 drinks each plus ooddles of free nibbles. Not forgetting the left over pizza that made a great evening supper!
Great choice if you are on Church Street, best pizza in London so far!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Review of Strada
18 Dec 07, 15:33
The Best of the Bunch! 
Out of all the Italian food chain Strada is by far my favorite. The food is always of a really high quality and no matter which one that you visit their quality is always high.
The decor is clean and stylish and makes for a really unfussy but polished dinning experience. I have sampled both their pizza and pasta offerings and both have impressed me. My favorite dish is the very simple but very effective 'Spaghetti al Ragu' this is a very well made and it always tastes fresh.
They have a good wine selection and their special wines are always worth a try. With regards to the food, the thing that keeps me frequenting Strada is the fabulous Pana cotta that comes with fresh rasberries. It is to die for!
The staff are always great and if your in a hurry it makes for a great place to have a bite. Away from some of the other more mass produced and boring Italian chains.
It is slightly more pricey than other places but well worth it in quality.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Review of La Porchetta
15 Nov 07, 17:15
Great Value 
This was my first visit to La Porchetta, and I really didn't know what to expect when I walked in the door. However, I was pleasantly surprised.
The decor was a little shabby but to be honest this made the place feel all that little more authentic. The staff were really friendly and very attentive.
My fellow diner and I both ordered pizzas and they were huge! Not only were they huge but they were really tasty too. They were a little hard to eat as they were slightly too big for the plates - but at least they are going to fill you up!
They do some really unusual options and are a little more adventurous than many larger Italian chains. Nice open kitchen that enables you to see the chefs at work.
The best bit about the meal was the price, for two pizza's and two drinks the bill was £16! You can't go wrong there, yummy pizza that is so cheap... great venue for food before a gig at the Roundhouse.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.