Once upon a time, not so very long ago, this was Trattoria Italiana, and it was Really Not Good. It closed shortly after I started Yelping, so it was spared the ignominy of my words.
And now, my friends - behold! From the choking ashes of disgrace, a phoenix! From the waxy cocoon of shame, a butterfly! From the... from the grubby skip of dismay, a - er - an armchair of joy! Yes! Go with it! An ARMCHAIR OF JOY!
(Legal note. There are no armchairs, butterflies or phoenixes in Cafe Andamiro.)
Cafe Andamiro is good. The fact it was as busy as it was today, just a standard Tuesday lunchtime, is testament to how good. It offers the curious combination of Japanese and Korean food - curious, I think, because I think of these very much as opposites, Japanese food being very fresh and light, and Korean food being quite stodgy and greasy. But for this reason, there's probably something on the menu that everyone will like.
Blythe R and I ordered the Korean dumplings to share as a starter, joking about how we would fight over the fifth and final dumpling, but when we mentioned that we were sharing, they in fact very kindly brought us six! They were really lovely - fried crispy on one side and very hot in the middle.
My Jap Chae was a riot of colour, which is perfect - nobody wants a mess of brown when glass noodles are involved. It all starts to looks fearsomely biological when that's the case. But these were beautiful fresh vegetables, and it was sweet and delicious and, for the price (£5.99) HUGE. I was so full at the end that I wasn't sure I'd make it home...
And now to my personal favourite bit. As you will see from the pictures - adorable china! Such adorable china! The green tea came in these super-cute floral teacups and a gorgeous matching teapot. The whole set was so "KAWAII!" (They also have a rather lovely Portmeirion Botanic Gardens soap dispenser in the little bathroom at the back, by the way). Even my Jap Chae, while Blythe's mighty bibimbap came in an ultra-impressive stone vessel like something from the Round Table, was served in a delicate little dish with a gold rim. Oh, I was so happy.
The prices were fantastic and the service superb too. In fact, the only thing letting this place down, in my eyes, is that it feels ever so slightly on the cramped side. But for a casual lunch, it's the eel's hips! I can't wait to come back and try... all those cakes... :O read more