Address: 397 Kings Road, Chelsea, London SW10 0LR

Telephone: 020 7352 4146

Website: N/A

Date of visit: 29 December 2011

Costs: Set lunch:  £14 for 2 courses, £18 for 3 courses. A la carte:  £30 plus for 2 courses

Wines and beer: Peroni £3, house red (Chanti) and house white (Saove) under £20 a bottle.

Likes and dislikes: Decent  neighbourhood restaurant – pretty cramped. Beware of cover charge (£1 per head) as well as 12.5% service on top of the cover charge!

Cuisine: Italian

Summary:

I met my friend CK for lunch.

This is a small restaurant at the Fulham end of Kings Road. There is metered parking outside.

The place seemed to be frequented by regulars as they all seemed to know each other. Apparently, this place is also frequented by Chelsea FC players, hence all the signed shirts. There is a sort of “high” communal table at the back – I presume that is where the players sit.

The set lunch was full of choices. I had the fritto misto followed by veal with mushroom whilst CH had parma ham with figs (he asked for a change from melon) followed by grilled chicken. We also ordered a bottle of sangiovase (£29.50)

The fritto misto had prawns (shrimps), mussels, calamari and whitebait in it. It was ok and the quantity was pretty big but the texture suggests that it was previously frozen. The tartar sauce was home made.

For main course, my veal was excellent but it came with saute potatoes, beetroot (golden) and Brussels sprouts which were not typical Italian vegetables. Looking around, I couldn’t see anyone eating pasta although it was on the menu – set lunch and a la carte.

It was an OK meal at OK prices for this part of the world but no more. CK was good company.

Total bill for 2 including a Peroni came to £73.23 including service.

E