I'd love to have a big old hairy moustached uncle who could cook big old dishes like beef cheeks and 8 hour lamb and French/Italian things like bruschetta and gnocchi and spatchcock but who loaded up the plate like it was your last meal.
Who liked great music, books and who did things without any care whatsoever about what was on trend or the latest design - who just threw away the rule book and did exactly what he wanted.
It occurs to me that whereas some new restaurants strive for a minimalist atmosphere this place is the exact reverse. Nothing about it is minimalist. There is clutter - which is good. Our table is huge, absolutely gigantic with so much room for everything. The glasses are big, the servings are ginormous, the chef is a man mountain. He probably doesn't want a new nephew, which is a pity, because I would adopt him as an uncle in a heartbeat.
What a fantastic honest place this is! BYO ...everything.
Everything! Champagne, Pinot, Sauternes you name it.
And I'm thinking to myself how fantastic the sound system is and what brilliant classical guitar music is being played and I look over and it's a bloke playing live! But not really loud and drawing no attention to himself - as if he's just part of the room at my new uncle's place.
I asked the the lady running the place if she would please pass my compliments to the chef on the beef cheeks but she said she would rather not because he is her husband it would just go to his head. That would make her my new Aunty!
The food is really great. Honest generous and beautifully executed. My family had the special spaghetti with clams, the spatchcock, the beef cheeks with gnocchi and the 8 hour lamb. We had some lovely starters and the deserts were delicious. All the classics are there and everyone loved their deserts.
I would write a great review of the wines except that I brought them. Did I mention that uncle Nutmeg doesn't mind if you BYO anything?
It's so great to find a welcoming place with great food at real value. Packed with obvious locals, the white pants, boat shoes, white hair, and blue striped polo shirts a dead giveaway. They are lucky to have such a great local! read more