Andover arms is just great

Why is this pub  in the top ten restaurants in London? When I went there a couple of years ago it looked to me like a traditional English pub with character in the heart of brakenbury village. I noticed an antique clock, a nice fire place and a warm and comfortable environment . It was not so popular at that time but now If you want to have dinner there you have to book even in week days. It's always crowded and the reason is the food is delicious and the price is affordable.

 I particularly like starters at the Andover arms. The last two times I went there I had crostini with anchovies once and grilled calamari and scallop in a delicious bed of mashedpeas an other time. I loved it. They also make a great French onion soup, amazing fish pie with melted cheese and fantastic chicken and chorizo pie.

For a starter and a main with a soft drink I spent 25£.
Staff is extremely friendly and dogs are allowed!
I highly recommend it.
Rate: 9 out if 10
Link:

Top 10 pizza in London

TOP TEN PIZZA IN LONDON

1. Princi in Covent Garden

Straight from Corso Como in Milan, Princi landed in London a few years ago. They have all Italian delicious dishes like pasta, lasagna and pizza of course.
The restaurant is divided in two, one side where you don't get table service and you can choose from a big variety of food and the other one is the restaurant area where you can sit to be served.
The design of the place is new and modern even if tables are quite small. There is always a long queue and recently they gave the possibility of downloading an app which tells you when your table is ready, that allows you to go for a walk while you are queueing.
Pizza doug is extremely soft, the quality of ingredients is superb, the best pizza to order is the simplest one, with buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes. They don't have a big choice of pizzas but it is the best pizza in London.
Environment: 7
Pizza: 10
Price: medium

2. Canta Napoli in Chiswick

Canta Napoli is a very small pizza restaurant in Chiswick just off the highstreet, it's very popular in the area, their food is great and the price is cheap. It's the typical Italian place where there is only one or two waiters  and they run up and down as quick as they can to serve all the tables in a reasonable amount of time.
They make pizza and other dished which are all great.
Pizza dough is very good and light and the topping is plentiful.
The environment is simple and the tables size is big enough to eat comfortable.
Environment: 6
Pizza: 9
Price: cheap

3. Franco Manca

Franco Manca is one is of the most popular pizza restaurant for Italians in London. All Italians in London know about it!
After the first successful restaurant opened in Brixton many years ago they opened many others all around London.
The dough is think and soft, tomatoes is high quality, topping is not always plentiful though. Their menu is straight forward and it's all about pizza. After eating you won't feel too heavy but it will keep a lovely taste in your mouth.
Pizza can taste slightly different in different locations but all of them good quality.
I tried the one in Westfield in Stratford, the one in Tottenham court road and the one in Chiswick which was the best one.
The environment is simple and nice, tables are comfortable. They also have a good selection of wines even though with pizza wine is not the best match.
Some Franco Manca make other dishes as well, like the one Chiswick, others don't, like the one in Westfield.
Environment: 7
Pizza: 9
Price: very cheap.

4. Rosso Pomodoro

Rosso Pomodoro is a popular chain of restaurants from Milan, there is more than one in London as well, I know the one in Chelsea, in Notting hill and my favourite in the heart of Covent Garden. It's quite big, the service is good and pizza is great. The dough is not very think, topping is good and plentiful usually. You can choose between a wide choice of pizza and they also serve other Italian dishes in a seasonal menu.
Environment: 8
Pizza: 9
Price: medium

5. Donna Margherita in Clapham Junction

Donna Margherita is one of Italians favourite Italian restaurant, they are original from Naples where pizza was born and that's why they serve good seafood dishes and fantastic pizza. You can get authentic and genuine italian food and good service. It's always crowded and you need to book in advance.
Pizza dough is thin and topping is good quality and good quantity. Price is reasonable for pizza a bit expensive for other dishes.
The place is small and environment is warm.
Environment: 7
Pizza:8
Price medium

6. Fratelli La Bufala in Covent Garden

This is a chain from south of Italy, very popular in Milan but also other cities.
Pizza is very good with thick and soft dough, good tomatoes and good mozzarella. Topping is rich too.
They also serve other great dishes from the southern Italy traditions.
The downside of this restaurant is that service is not that good and quite often they ask you to sit in a very small table even if it is four of you, even if they place is big and not full, that makes the expirience a bit unconfortable.
Environment: 7
Pizza: 8
Price medium

7. Santore' in Angel

It is a very popular pizza restaurant with Italians, it is located in a lovely pedestrian area in Angel. Pizza dough is thin and ingredients are good. They mainly serve pizza al metro.
The restaurant is small and comfortable.
Environment: 7
Pizza: 8
Price medium

8. Bianco43 in Greenwich

Bianco43 it's a cosy small restaurant in Greenwich high Street, specialised in pizza and italian traditional dishes.
They have small tables, the environment is nice and staff is friendly.  Pizza dough is very good and that's what makes it special.
Environment: 8
Pizza:8
Price: medium

9. La Porchetta in Muswell Hill

This place is like you would expect an Italian restaurant to be. It's noisy and fun, all staff running and talking laud to each other. If it's your birthday they will switch the light off and start playing laud happy birthday song. Pizza is simple and good, you won't get the amazing quality you can find at other places but you will always end up you dinner satisfied. They also serve other pasta dishes which is ok but the best dish is pizza.
The restaurant is quite big comparing to other restaurant in London, and usually lively and crowded.
They also have good traditional deserts like tiramisu and profiteroles,
Environment: 7
Pizza:8
Price: cheap

10. Portobello in Notting hill

It's a big pizza restaurant in Notting hill, they use to have a special "all pizza you can eat" menu. They also serve other Italian dishes. Service is not great but pizza is worth.
Environment: 7
Pizza: 8
Price: medium

Alla Stazione, Misano Adriatico, Italy

If you ask me for a restaurant where to take your date out I would suggest you this place.
If you ask me for a restaurant where you can eat great food and big portions I probably woulnd't.

At Alla stazione restaurants the environment is fine and elegant, food is homemade and good quality.
I had homemade green seafood gnocchi with clams and seabass. I enjoyed it but the portion was not really generous comparing to other restaurants in Romagna coast in Italy.
I also had a tiramisu which was homemade, I liked it the only thing I was not happy about is that biscuits were too dry, I prefer when they are dunked in coffee and then covered by mascarpone cream.
Other people enjoyed their food, it was 6 of us and we spent 100 euro for 2 pasta dishes, a seafood starter, two pizza, a salad, water, wine and 4 deserts.

Rate: 7 out of 10
Link: Alla stazione

Jasmin in Sheperd's Bush, open until late

Elegant and good Thai restaurant in Shepherd's bush open till late.
Nice and friendly staff, nice wood decorations remind Thailand.
We had a mix of starters, all of them very good, and as a main I had soya noodles. They came with mixed fried vegetables and chicken. I enjoyed the dish and everybody else did. The most interesting dish is chicken on the fire which is showed below. A friend of mine ordered it and he said he really enjoyed it. The bill was cheap as well!
Rate: 8 out of 10.

Link: Jasmine in sheperds bush

Mozzarella bar

I have heard about this place a couple of times recently and yesterday I finally went there. The environment is new and stylish, quite dark even too much and air conditioning was quite high.
We started with a portion of mixed crostini which we shared. There were three pieces of bread quite small, one topped with a nice pâté, one with ndujua which is a chili pâté made in south of Italy and the last one and other pâté which I'm not sure about. Crosini were good but a bit overpriced considering the small portion.  I had quite high expectations of the pizza but it didn't really matched them. My pizza was topped with speck, the base was very soft but too floury, the top was generous but there were some big pieces of tomatoes which I didn't really like, I prefer when pizza is topped with passata but there was chopped tomatoes sauce instead.
We also had tiramisu which was really good. We ordered some wine as well. Overall the restaurant is good but if I want to eat a good pizza it wouldn't be my first choice. We spent 28£ each.
Rate: 6 out if 10

Tapeo, one of the best in Barcelona

A delicious tapas restaurant in the heart of Barcelona. The atmosphere is quite and relaxed, that staff are good, food is excellent.
In my short trip to Barcelona I went there twice and I would love to go back only to be able to have dinner there again.
I had croquettes, I believe the best in Barcelona, then I had cannelloni with mushrooms, they come covered with melted cream and cheese, they are delicious, I had stewed beef which was super tender and amazing tasteful. Everything was extremely good, tasteful and original. I couldn't stop ordering food, I was amazed!

Link: Tapeo
Rate: 10 out of 10.

Croquette

Tiramisu

Canela, even better

I have been in this small restaurant a few times in the past but when I went there again I found out the management changed and I was not happy about that because I liked the previous one.
The restaurant is bigger than before, it's more elegant as well, tables are made with marble and weitres wear all the same uniform.
I ordered an aubergine salad and stewed beef as main course. The salad was very good with a delicious dressing which I never tasted before. Beef was good but not special. They brought us some home made flat crunchy bread which was a perfect combination with the salad.
There is a wide Portuguese wine selection and I decided to try one of them which was very good.
Other people at the table ordered different dishes, deep fried seafood and fagiolata which is a dish made with mixed beens and came with rice and cous cous.
We extremely enjoyed everything, fagiolata was probably the most tasty dish.
Rate: 8

Link: Canela

Bizcaia in Barcelona

What about if you are in a restaurant with 20 dishes and you would like to try all of them? Well that would be too much... But with pinchos you can! Many  many little portions of good food each of them looks like a piece of art, each of them a tastefull gem. Cheese topped with smashed chorizo, great jamon, bread with sheep cheese topped with a little touch of sweetness and smashed nuts.
You can have all of it, with good glasses of enlist too.
Rate: 7 out of 10

Tasty vegetarian pad thai

Waiting at the airport can be boring unless you spend your time eating good food. We went to Wagamama and we had a chicken katsu and a vegetarian pad thai. Chicken katsu was very tasty, it was a deep fried chicken with a lot of plain rice on the top of it and a green sauce which was good with the rice but it didn't make much sense with the chicken.  The dish came with cabbage as well which gives a nice light touch. 

The best dish was pad thai though. It was cooked with onion, spring onions, a bit of egg, nuts and a few pieces of tofu. It was delicious.
The environment is nice as well especially if you sit close to the window because you can enjoy the view of the planes.
Rate: 7 out of 10

Link: Wagamama

Rosso pomodoro in Nottinghill

Rossi pomodoro is a chain from north of Italy, I use to eat there in Milan and there is a good one in Covent garden as well. They usually make very good pizza and good pasta. For the first time I went to the one in Nottinghill and I expected the same dishes with the same taste but I was disappointed. We have three different kind of pasta, fusilli with ricotta cheese and vegetables called cime di rapa, paccher with peas and meatball and gnocchi with cherry tomatoes. None of the was particularly good. Fusilli was too dry but was not too bad, paccheri was awful. The sauce was made with pass at a but it tasted like they didn't cook it and it was tasteless. Gnocchi was nothing special neither.
I wouldn't recommend it.
Rate: 5 out of 10.

Trattoria al coniglio

A trattoria is a restaurant where you can usually find homemade dishes, it is usually family run and it's never posh.
It was lunch time and we ended up at "trattoria al coniglio" where I had never been before. When we arrived the restaurant was quite full which usually means food is good. The atmosphere was nice and relaxed and the staff was polite and friendly.
We ordered as first main courses,
tortellini soup, they were very well made, not too big or too small neither, there was not too much pasta or too much filling but the combination and size were very good, the filling was tastefull, the soup was great, it was not too bland or too salty neither, the balance was perfect,
tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms and sausages, I tried it and the taste of porcini mushrooms matched perfectly with sausages,
strozzapreti boscaiola, it is pasta made with flavour and water and was served with cream, peas, mushrooms and sausages,
all pasta was handmade and fresh served with a rich sauce.
After that we had a portion grilled mixed meat to share.

I was delighted with everything, portions were very big and food was amazing. 

We had a bit of wine, some water and at the end of the meal they brought some very good deserts with compliment.
The price was very cheap, we spent only 12 euros each. I will definitely go there again.
Rate: 10 out of 10

Link: Ristorante al Coniglio, Rimini

The restaurant

Tortellini soup

Strozzapreti alla boscaiola

Tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms and sausages

A lovely rustic Italian restaurant

Al ristotantino is the name of a lovely rustic Italian restaurant. It's the kind of restaurant where everyone would like to go if in a trip to Italy. It has been run by the same family for 20 years at least, pasta is all homemade and the vegetables they cook come from just behind the house where the owner cultivate them. They also produce their extravergin olive oil. It was four of us and we had crostini as starter and as main courses we had gnocchi with bolognese sauce and stracchino cheese, ravioli with butter and sage, tortellini with bolognese sauce, mixed pork grilled meat, grilled lamb, oven cooked potatoes and graté vegetables. Everything was delicious, bolognese sauce was great, pasta was amazing. Meat came with a traditional homemade Italian flat bread called piadina. At the end they brought a bottle of grappa for free.
The waiter could have been a little bit politer but overall he was okey.
The price was not too cheap as I would expect from a restaurant in the country side, we spent 22 euros each. We also had wine, water and a desert.
Rate: 10 out of 10

Amazing crostini toscani

Tonight I had amazing crostini toscani at Tinello restaurant. 

Crostini is a traditional starter from Tuscany and it is quite difficult to find it outdside Italy. 

The other starters we ordered are crostini with lardo and honey and gnocco fritto with mortadella which is a traditional dish from Bologna and again you can't find it in London. 

Everything was homemade and absolutely fantastic, perfectly made and big portions as well. 

As main course we had tagliatelle with parma ham, green homemade pappardelle with duck ragu and tortelli with pesto. All dishes were great, homemade and generous portions.

We ordered one desert, an espresso and water. Desert was a tiramisu which was good. We spent 23£ each.

Rate: 9 out of 10.

Link: Tinello

Crostini toscani

Crostini con lardo

Gnocco fritto with mortadella

Pappardelle with spinach and duck ragu'

Ravioli with Pesto

Tagliatelle with parma ham

Wine tasting

It was my first wine tasting event in London and I really enjoyed it. The evening started with the owner giving a speach about the event and the cook talked as well. The athmosphere was very enjoyable, nice people around and everybody was laughing and clapping when the owner was talking.

The theme of the evening was Spain, wine was good and food was great.

After that they started pooring 4 or 5 different kinds of wine from Spain all along with delicious pintxon, small tapas. 

The entire event was a success. We enjoyed it so much and at the end we ordered more food and more wine.

We spent 20 pounds for the wine taste. The food we ordered after was quite expensive, about 20 pound for a platter of cheese to share which I wouldn't pay normally. I'm going to rate the wine tasting event and not the wine shop it self.

Rate: 9 out of 10.

Link: Wine Shop

Italian restaurant English recipe

We went to Osteria del Portico, very Italian name and Italian owner which was very promising. We were pleased to know that dogs are allowed indoor and  outdoor.
They have a nice outdoor space, nicely decorated between other buildings which keep the wind away.
The daily menu was quite cheap and included a starter, a pasta dish and a drink.
As starter everybody ordered vegetable bruschetta and it was very good. Italian bread topped with grilled vegetables and parmesan cheese shaves.
I also ordered seafood spaghetti, it's usually difficult to find fresh seafood served in a restaurant in London but it was the dish of the day and I thought they would have bought it freash.
Well, the portion was huge but seafood was not great, mussels were fresh but the rest of it was not, there were prawns and ring squid.
My friends had penne carbonara and it was full of cream which is not part of the Italian recipe which contains only pancetta, eggs and parmesan cheese.
The menu was 10.50 each.
Rate: 5 out of 10.
Link: Osteria Portico