Strada-new menu review

Recently I was lucky enough to be invited to review the new menu at Strada. Now, before you really start to hate me let me just say that it was REALLY GOOD! What could be a better way to start a meal than with a massive platter of fresh antipasti? Succulent buffalo mozzarella interleaved with ripe tomatoes, bruschetta pomodoro, parma ham, salami, speck and a tasty olive tapenade made for a great first course. We were also treated to some large green olives, succulent and juicy, and a basket of hand stretched garlic and rosemary flat bread, which was gorgeous, and made us want to keep going back for more.

Mains came in two batches (just as well really!) starting with a four seasons pizza, topped with delicious artichokes, mushrooms, ground beef and parma ham. A pasta dish with Luganica sausage, pancetta, and broccoli, with red chilli was eye-wateringly spicy, but a creamy risotto with butternut squash offset that, so you should have both dishes at the same time... Second mains were a whole fish, cooked to perfection so it melted in the mouth, served with rosemary potatoes. Ahh. I love a rosemary potato, and this dish was a real taste of the mediterranean. Veal saltimboca was equally good, wrapped in parma ham (there's a theme here) and sitting atop creamy mash potato - real comfort food and perfect for this time of year.

Luckily, I have a second stomach for dessert-and it really came in to play here! Over the 3 dishes the jury was out as to which one we preferred. Luckily, I'm not an indecisive woman, so with intense concentration and numerous tastes tests I gave my casting vote to the Bunet Piemontese. (I know, I didn't try and pronounce it either!) The dessert was a new one on me, but the combination of chocolate and amaretto is a winning one in my book, and this boozy dessert was just the sort of thing I like at the end of a meal. The chocolate was somewhat like a firm mousse in texture, with crumbled amaretti biscuits and amaretto splashed over the top, delicious and boozy. What more could you want? 

The other desserts in the running for what is really the crown-of-all-crowns (I'm obviously a chocolate girl-chuck me some over?) were Affogato, a classic Italian dish of nougat iced semi-freddo, with a shot of expresso (or sometimes dessert wine-yum!) on the side which you can pour over. Strada's take on this was great to, and I really had trouble choosing. But in the end, chocolate will always beat ice cream for me. Pistachio ice cream was a delicate addition to a noisy dessert menu, and felt like the virtuous option-hence we didn't eat much! (If you're going to eat dessert, make it worth your while) It was nice enough, but had a slightly glazed look, a little bit too shiny for ice cream. Maybe the chef had polished it? Anyway, it was a great meal, and the service at Royal Festival Hall was excellent, even though the tables are very close together. Go and try the new menu, or have the Christmas one, and make sure you get some antipasti and finish with the Bunet Piemontese-if I haven't eaten it all already...


Here's the full run-down of what we had, to make you jealous, and for glimpse of bits of the new Strada menu:

OLIVES (V)

Large green Castelvetrano olives, fresh from Sicily

SCHIACCIATE LLA AGLIO FLAT BREAD (V)

great to share and the perfect start to your Italian experience

ANTIPASTO

A platter of Italian flavours: Parma ham, Napoli salami, speck

ham from Trentino, buffalo mozzarella from Campania, vineripened

tomatoes, olive tapenade and bruschetta pomodoro

STROZZAPRETI PUGLIESE

A classic dish from Puglia. Traditional hand twisted Strozzapreti

pasta, Luganica sausage, pancetta, and broccoli, with red chilli

butter & Grana Padano cheese

RISOTTO ZUCCA

Pumpkin, butternut squash, pancetta, spinach and pine nuts

QUATTRO STAGIONI

Four fabulous pizzas in one: Luganica sausage; Italian cotto

ham; roasted artichoke and chestnut mushrooms

SALTIMBOCCA MAIALE

Pork fillet with crispy Parma ham, mashed potato, green beans

and a sage butter sauce

ORATA AL FORNO

A whole sea bream, pan roasted with lemon & thyme,

served with a green salad and roasted new potatoes

Affogato (v)

Iced nougat semi-freddo ice cream with a shot of hot,

fresh espresso to pour over the top

BUNET PIEMONTESE (v)

Similar in style to a Pannacotta. A soft rich custard made with

Italian chocolate, hazelnuts, crushed Amaretti biscuits and a

generous splash of amaretto liqueur

PISTACHIO GELATO (v)

Especially made for us to a traditional artisan recipe

from Marche in central Italy