TravelValue: England: menu

Showing posts with label menu. Show all posts

Friday, December 7, 2018

London: I Was, Nearly, Over The Moon For La Luna

La Luna
380 Walworth Road
London SE17 2NG
United Kingdom
Italian, Pizza
Phone number +44 20 7277 1991
Website: lalunapizzeria.com
Prices: ££££

Pretty good Italian food at a reasonable price, the place was quiet on a Thursday night after our first day in London and a miserable trip (two cancelled flights, lost luggage, and no sleep for 36+ hours). It is a simple place with a nice ambiance and the aroma of garlic in the air as we entered.

Many of the staff are Italians, a good thing at an Italian restaurant, with the chef hailing from bella Napoli. The pizza oven looks authentic, but it appeared out of use until the pizzaiuolo (pizza maker) put our garlic bread inside to bake. Turns out it is gas fired.

We started with a Caprese Salad - "fresh (buffalo) mozzarella cheese, tomato, basil, and olive oil" (£6.90) - as well as an order of garlic bread (£3) as previously mentioned. The mozzarella was neither fresh nor Mozzarella di Bufala as far as I could tell and there were just four large, halved cherry tomatoes surrounding the ball of cheese which was topped with one lonely basil leaf. There was a "skin" on the outside of the mozzarella and it did not ooze liquid, indicating that it wIt was not the worst Caprese I have had, but it was far from the best. The garlic bread was actually pizza dough topped with olive oil and salt, then baked in the gas oven. It was tasty and a decent value. I also had a half bottle of house red wine (£6.90), a Merlot which was smooth, light, and tasty.

I saw that they had a Salsiccia e Friarielli (sausage and broccoli rabe sautéed in olive oil) Pizza (£9.90) on the menu, so I asked if they could make me a pasta dish with sausage and friarielli as well, a request to which they readily agreed. Bravo! The pasta was quite tasty and well prepared, indicating that the Neapolitan chef knew what he was doing. They charged me the same for the pasta as they do for the pizza (£9.90).

My wife's Spaghetti Carbonara (£8.50) was made with cream, pancetta, and egg and she enjoyed it very much even though it was "a bit too salty". It was a decent portion and a very good value for the price, but authentic it was not as you would never find cream as an ingredient in a carbonara in Italy.

I would have given them an extra "BOMB" had the Caprese salad been better and more fresh and the carbonara prepared more traditionally. As they say in bella Napoli ... così così (so-so).

CombatCritic Gives La Luna 6 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Six Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Good To Go"

Saturday, March 24, 2018

London, England: Bizzarro Does Not Even Start To Describe This Place

Bizzarro

18-22 Craven Road

London W2 3PX

United Kingdom

Paddington Station

Phone number +44 20 7723 6029

Website: bizzarro.co.uk

Prices: ££££

Everything is à la carte here, like in Italy, but the food is not ... like in Italy. Meat dishes come with nothing and bread is €1/person. A 10% service charge (£4.19 - $5.80) was also automatically included, so our server seemed extremely arrogant and nonchalant, a bit of an ass. Why should he care if the service charge (tip) is mandatory? He did not get a pence more.

A half liter of house red wine is £9.40 ($13) on their website menu, but it was £10.20 ($14.15) when the bill arrived. The half liter carafe was far from full and it was not good. I had the Pasta e Fagioli (£4.50) and it was too soupy, had the wrong beans, and bland. Two teaspoons of grated parmesan did not even help. My wife the Olives (£2.90), a decent portion, but a tad spicy-hot because of the sliced jalapeños in the olive oil. Strange.

She had the Fettuccine Prosciutto e Funghi (£8.90 - $12.32 for a "main" - £1 more than the small) and I the Vitello Saltimbocca alla Romana (veal topped with prosciutto and sage in a wine sauce - £10.90 - $15.09). Her portion of fettuccine was not very big, so I would hate to see the small version (£7.90), and it was bland with little flavor. My veal was actually beef (you can tell by the color - greyish, not white - and the way it cuts) and had a strange flavor. I am not sure if it was the wine they used, the sage, or both, but it tasted a little of a chemical of some kind.

It was a disappointing experience after having read the great reviews, but then some throw 5-Stars around like candy. I guess I am a bit more demanding than most, having lived and traveled extensively in Italy for many years, but this meal was not even close to the 4-Stars (7-8 Bombs) they average on yelp. It was one of the worst £46 ($64) meals I have eaten. Bizzarro!

CombatCritic Gives Bizzarro 3 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Three Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Situation Normal, All Fucked Up"

Saturday, March 17, 2018

The Pubs and Inns of England and Wales

A Pictorial Tribute To

The Pubs and Inns of England and Wales

Gravesend, England

London, England

Canterbury, England

Nottingham, England

Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem - The Oldest Inn in England (1189 AD)

Chester, England

Conwy, Wales

Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

Windsor, England

Gravesend, England

Rochester, Engalnd

Horley, England

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "Gold" Elite '14/'15/'16/'17/'18

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Tabelog - Official Judge - "Silver"

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie - Over 1,890,733 Review And Photo Views

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Title: The Pubs and Inns of England and Wales

Key Words: The Pubs of England and Wales, pubs, England, Wales, English, inn, inns, pub, bitter, pint CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, business, review, Yelp, Google, Facebook