There are two restaurants within ten minutes walk of my front door that I’d not been to until this week.
Pidé is a Turkish flatbread cooked with toppings like pizza. Their most expensive dish is £12.35 and a bottle of the house wine is £17.99. So you can eat out inexpensively in London. Alternatively …
My other neighbourhood restaurant started as a canteen for the architects working for Richard Rogers. It still serves up simple Italian fare under Lady Roger’s direction. It’s a hot ticket – you need to book at least a month ahead. There’s a two course £28 set lunch menu, but you need to sit down at either 12.30 or 2.15 and specify that you want it when you book. We didn’t do that so went a la carte. On a wet Wednesday lunchtime it was packed but there are plenty of attentive staff looking like models in a Boden catalogue. The River Café is no ordinary Italian joint.
I started with crab and agretti – a Med veg like samphire but less stringy. Then I had spaghettini with vongole. Both were excellent – so good that my host kept helping himself from my plate. We drank half a litre of white wine from Friuli and had pudding. Everything was perfect but it’s not cheap. Starters are £15 – £30; mains £36 – £40; wine around £50 a bottle. I will go back but, meanly, will opt for their set lunch:
Sample Winter Set Lunch Menu
3rd January until 30th April 2019
Antipasti
Puntarelle alla Romana
Calamari ai ferri – chargrilled Squid with fresh red chilli & rocket
Prosciutto di Parma with sage & chickpea farinata
Mozzarella di Bufala with Capezzana November 2018 extra virgin olive oil, cavolo nero puree and bruschetta
Primi
Zuppa di Zucca
Spaghetti with Crab, fennel herb and lemon
Risotto with artichokes, vermouth and Parmesan
Secondi
Pizzetta with radicchio, Robiola and rosemary
Capesante ai ferri – chargrilled Scottish Scallops with sage, capers, soft polenta and borlotti
Branzino al forno – wild Sea Bass roasted with Florence fennel, lemon zest, Fiano, potatoes and olives
Coscia d’Agnello ai ferri – chargrilled marinated leg of Lamb with grilled peperoncino, braised cicoria & Italian spinach
Dolci
Pear & Almond Tart
Lemon Tart
Stracciatella Ice Cream