This is a small, high-class Italian restaurant at the Parliament end of Great Peter Street. Unsurprisingly, it's a favourite for lunches with the Westminster village of politicians, lobbyists, trade associations and the like.
The food is upmarket modern Italian, made with fresh ingredients, many sourced directly from Italy. I found the pasta to be fresh and tasty, with a wider choice of ingredients than I would normally come across - Cappellacci (little pasta pies) with potato & mozzarella, broccoli puree & pecorino di fossa cheese, for example. Vegetarians are reasonably well catered for, and they indicate a number of 'nearly vegetarian' dishes that can be made fully vegetarian on request, which is a nice idea.
Soups and starters range from £9 to £10.50 and mains from £13.50 for pasta to £22 for steak or wild turbot (extra side dishes - vegetables or salad - come in at £3.50 per portion).
Desserts come in at £6.50, but they are known for their Italian cheese-boards, featuring cheeses otherwise hard to find in UK restaurants: this varies from £7.50 for 3 cheeses, to a waist-expanding £11.50 for 7 cheeses (but can also be shared!). These are clearly very popular indeed and we saw several groups indulging.
The wine list is also substantial - over 130 including champagnes - and this is a rather select mixture of French and Italian wines. A 12.5% service charge is added, so expect a two course dinner with wine to come in at around £50-60 a head: a simple lunch should be about £25 or so.
I'd heard that service has been a problem for others, but my experience is that it was very good: if anything, the bread and water waiters were a little too attentive. We had to wait a little too long to order, but the food then came quickly, as did the coffee and the bill when we asked for it. It was all pretty friendly, as well - not as snooty as some places around Westminster can be.
The price will make it mostly a business location, and it's clearly very popular for that: lunch bookings are essential. The tables are a little close together in places for a special intimate meal for two (some tables are better than others for this), but then again, who wants to risk having a politician on the next table on their special date? But they are happy to cater for groups and their website lists various group menus, which range from £30 to £44 per person (without drinks, sides or service).
Note: they are open only Monday-Friday. read more