Pakistani restaurant Lahore Karahi 1 Tooting High Street London SW17 0SN
Lahore Karahi
We have not been to this restaurant for a couple of years, mainly due to the very poor service (especially to women) that we had experienced in the past. That was quite a while ago now though, and we decided to give it another try. I’m very happy to report that things were much improved, with smiling waiters who even showed some humour.
It is quite a large space inside the restaurant, with an upstairs area available for functions. When you enter, the grills and tandoors are to your right. This is noticable after you leave also, as our clothes always smell very strongly of curry. Better ventilation would not go astray, but at the same time, it is only after you leave that you notice it – the atmosphere inside is not choking.
As starters we took a shish kebab, and the kebab roll – just to find out what that was. It turned out to be a shish kebab in naan bread, with a little salad and onions. And as mains, we took one of their specialities, chicken tikka masala karachi – which is a very creamy and mildly spiced chicken tikka masala – and a chicken korma. To this we added two naan bread, and to drink two sweet lassi.
Sweet lassi
Kebab roll
Shish kebab
The shish kebabs (both types) were very good – nicely cooked and lightly spicy. These starters are inexpensive, and we didn’t realise they would be quite so big. Another time, we would just take one and share it.
The two curries
Curries and naan bread
Mix of tikka masala karachi & chicken korma curries
Close-up
The chicken tikka masala karachi was supremely creamy – if you like smooth creamy curries with some depth of flavour, this is nirvana. It is a naturally mildly spicy dish, but they will spice it up for you if you ask. The chicken korma was also very good, and also very creamy (and actually, taking both of them was overkill), but between the two the tikka masala wins hands down. Really an excellent curry.
Mango kulfi
The lassi were good – not too sweet, tangy, and nicely chilled. I finished the meal with some mango kulfi, which had a rich and slightly caramelised flavour.
Cost and conclusion: for about £20 for two, the value for money is excellent. They managed to improve greatly their service so I would recommend this place if you are in the area. I still prefer overall the Al Mirage curry house two minutes walk away because the service is still better. They do suggest dishes to you, and are happy to provide any description or explanation you need, for example. Both are much better than the Mirch Masala nearby.
French restaurant Bellevue Rendez-vous 218 Trinity Road, Wandsworth Common London SW17 7HP
Bellevue Rendez-vous is a great local restaurant for those living around Wandsworth Common. It is owned by a couple who really work hard to provide an excellent friendly service. I have not reviewed every time I went there (over 10 times easily) but it has always been a nice relaxing dining experience. This time Pablo the chef was ill but his replacement managed to still provide a good dinner. For more reviews about this place, please take a look at the page of restaurants listed by alphabetical order.
We ordered a 3 course set menu at £19 for one, and the rest was à la carte. As starters we had a quiche and a foie gras (£8). As main course we had a boeuf bourguignon and a bavette (£13). For desserts we had a gâteau de Pablo and a fondant au chocolat (£6.50). We also had a 1/2 litre of sparkling water Badoit (£2) and a glass of house red wine (£4.50).
The two starters
Foie gras et chutney
La quiche
The foie gras was a quite big piece! It was very good, smooth and tasty. With the sliced baguette, it was a great starter. The bread here has always been fresh and light. The quiche, sadly, was a bit overdone. A shame, since it had a nice light pastry and tasty filling – but even if still quite edible, was not up to the usual standard here.
The main courses
Boeuf bourguignon et gratin dauphinois
Bavette aux échalottes et pommes de terre sautées
The main courses were good. The bavette (flank of beef) was perfectly cooked, a little burnt and crispy on the outside and red without being bloody inside. The shallots on top were a good balance to the meat. The potatoes could have been better cooked, but then the chef Pablo was exceptionally not there as explained above. Normally they are very hot and lightly crispy. This time they were mildly hot. The boeuf bourguignon was also very good. It is a simple dish, full of strong rich flavours – definite comfort food. It was served with rich creamy potatoes gratin dauphinois, which were a perfect accompaniment.
The desserts
Gâteau de Pablo
Fondant au chocolat
The desserts were good, especially the fondant au chocolat. When you break the shell you have a nice hot melting chocolate that matches well with the vanilla ice cream. If you are into chocolate, this dessert is highly recommended! The gâteau de Pablo was light and a perfect way to end the diner. The presentation was a little less good than usual for the reason mentioned earlier.
Cost and conclusion: it was £53. At the bottom of the menu it is written a 12.5% service charge is added to rude people. We managed to escape it by being friendly enough 😉 So there is no “discretionary” service charge included in the bill as many restaurants rudely do. We really like that and restaurants like Bellevue Rendez-vous should be supported for following that policy. Highly recommended!
Bugatti Pizzeria 145 Wandsworth High Street London SW18 4JB
Bugatti pizzeria
Inside the Bugatti pizzeria
Bugatti Pizzeria is located on Wandsworth High Street, not far from the Town Hall and the commercial centre. The frontside of the restaurant is not wide but actually it is a quite large restaurant with good space between the tables. It feels quite airy, an impression reinforced by the view of the stairs going upstairs.
We took a pizza Regina B (made of mozzarella, ham, mushrooms and olives – £5) and a pizza calzone piccante (folded pizza with pepperoni, cheese and chilli pepper – £5). As drinks we had a bottle of an Italian sparkling water (£1.50) and a Moretti beer (£3) served cold, as it should be.
The two pizzas
Pizza Regina
The pizza Regina was a bit disappointing. The main problem with it was that the toppings were, or certainly tasted as though they were, of very low supermarket quality. I’d make that complaint particularly about the ham, which I’m pretty sure was the reconstituted wafer thin variety – and in any case, had very little flavour. The pizza base was also quite tasteless, which left everything up to the mozarella and mushrooms. The texture and crispness of the base was fine, but overall a disappointingly bland experience. Of course, we’re not in the (low) class of pizza hut or anything like that! But I can’t rate Bugatti’s pizza Regina anywhere above average either.
Pizza calzone piccante
The pizza Calzone piccante was decent. The base was not crispy but it was still alright. I do appreciate the tomato sauce was put on the side of the pizza and not directly on it as it happens sometimes, making the pizza soggy. The toppings were some chilli pepper, cheese and some pepperoni that looked fried like fried bacon. The spicy oil was nicely spicy.
Cost and conclusion: it was £14.50 (service charge not included and not automatically added to the bill – we like that) for the two pizzas and the drinks. Hard to beat that price which is £5 for a pizza or pasta (excluding seafood) between 12 to 5 pm. Outside this time frame they are more around £7-8. Still, quite an amazingly low price for London. Only Franco Manca is in the same price range with better pizzas (although our second visit there was not a great experience) but a less “fancy” decor. In neither case would I do the trip just for their pizzas but they can be recommended when around the area. Bugatti Pizzeria also does take away.
Italian restaurant Bucci 195 Balham High Road London SW12 9BE
Bucci
Retro design
The entrance
We went to Bucci with the intention of eating pizza. However, it turned out that they only fire up the wood fire for pizza in the evenings – we went at lunch time, so were out of luck (or so it seemed).
With pizza unavailable, we took instead the set menu, which was priced at £9.95 for two courses or £13.50 for three. For this modest sum, we could choose for the starters between soup of the day (in this case, minestrone), a Norwegian prawn coktail, timbale of aubergines and mozarella in a tomato sauce with drops of pesto, and calamari rings sautéed in chilli garlic and olive oil and garnished with continental parsley. For main courses, there was a choice between baked meat cannelloni in a tomato and béchamel sauce, risotto with mixed finely chopped vegetables finished with a drop of pesto sauce, pan fried piccata of chicken in white wine and lemon sauce, or grilled skewers of prawns on a bed of aromatized bread crumbs finished with a delicate parsley sauce. For dessert, the choice was between caffé cream, chocolate trilogy cake and fresh fruit salad.
We chose the calamari and the aubergines as starters, the cannelloni and chicken as mains, and caffé cream and chocolate trilogy cake as dessert.
The timbale of aubergines
The timbale of aubergines and mozarella in a tomato sauce with drops of pesto was excellent. It arrived piping hot (seriously very hot) and with it we were offered pepper and parmesan cheese. We passed on the pepper, but accepted the parmesan – with which the waitress was not stingy! Really a very enjoyable dish, which I’d certainly take again.
Calamari rings
The calamari rings were quite good with a delicate olive oil taste and a hint of chilli and garlic. It was certainly not a spicy (hot) dish but a well balanced meal. The calamari were fortunately not chewy.
The two main courses
The pan fried piccata of chicken
The pan fried piccata of chicken in white wine and lemon sauce was also extremely good. It was 4 mini chicken breasts on a bed of salad. I didn’t notice any sauce, but the chicken had clearly been pan fried in something as it had an excellent flavour to the lightly singed outside. It was nicely crispy on the outside, tender inside, and not a bit dry.
Baked meat cannelloni in a tomato and béchamel sauce
The baked meat cannelloni in a tomato and béchamel sauce was overall pretty good, served hot with a nice creamy tomato and béchamel sauce. The meat was a little bland, it could have been seasoned more.
Chocolate trilogy cake
The chocolate trilogy cake was not bad. I don’t think this was commercially supplied (as is often the case with Italian restaurants). The top layer was marscapone, beneath which was layered chocolate and vanilla cake. All served with a chocolate sauce and a dusting of cocoa. It was pleasantly moist, and not over sweet.
Caffé cream
The caffé cream was better though. It was a dense cream flavoured with coffee. This is the sort of dessert that has the potential to be a bit heavy, but in this case it was mixed with some sort of suet, which just set it off nicely. A good end to a very good meal.
Espresso coffee
We finished with a couple of espressos, which were very good. Nice and thick and strong, not too bitter and not at all burnt.
Cost and conclusion: it was about £35 service charge not included and not automatically added to the bill. We like restaurants like Bucci who respect customers right to decide on any tip. Good and well priced food, and a very friendly service. We will be back!
Limoncello Trattoria Pizzeria Wine Bar 169-171 Mitcham Road, Tooting London SW17 9PG
Limoncello
Inside Limoncello
We have not been to Limoncello for over 3 months despite their excellent pizzas! We are repairing this mistake today. Limoncello is located 5 minutes walk from Tooting Broadway tube station. The restaurant is quite spacious with a bar on one side and the restaurant on the other side. There is a good distance between tables too unlike the photo above might suggest: the tables there were put together for a party.
As starters we ordered the bresaola avocado (thinly sliced cured beef with avocado – £5.90) and a fried breaded camenbert (£5.90) which was listed on their menu of the day blackboard. For main courses we chose the pizza fiorentina made of tomato, mozzarella, spinach, onions and egg (£7.50) and a pizza calzone (like last time since it was quite good) made of tomato, mozzarella, mushrooms, ham and salami (£7.90). The wine was a bottle of red wine (Cabernet – £13.90) that was already on the table as they were suggesting it. It was well balanced and easy to drink.
Bresaola avocado
Fried breaded camembert
The fried breaded camembert was surprising. It was two huge slices of camembert with an apple compote. The photo does not really show their size. It could have been a main course itself. It was quite good and the compote was a good balance.
The bresaola avocado was excellent. The cured beef was perfect with a squeeze of lemon and some avocado. Usually I find acovado a bit – well, bleh. It is rather bland and greasy for my taste. With the cured beef, lemon and a touch of rocket, however, I finally see the point of avocado. Really an excellent starter that I wouldn’t hesitate to repeat.
Pizza Fiorentina
Pizza calzone
Anatomy of a calzone
The pizzas were quite good and giant. The pizza fiorentina had a nice crispy base that stayed lightly crispy without becoming too hard as it happens sometimes with pizzas. The toppings with spinach and onions were nice. It was just unfortunate the egg broke while being cooked. Still, a pretty decent pizza. The calzone was, as the last time, very good indeed. It had just the right mix and quantity of ingredients, and stayed nice and crispy. Definitely recommended.
Apple tart
Mint ice cream
The desserts were average. Not bad but they looked like desserts you can get at the supermarket and they were too sweet. The dessert menu already makes you think that because it is one of these standard plastified menu with photos. We also had two limoncello (£6.40) and they were served icy as they should. We even got a free refill from the owner, which was nice of him. We ended the dinner with two good cups of coffee.
Cost and conclusion: it was £57 service charge not included and not automatically added to the bill. We like when it is left at the discretion of the client and in this case as the service was good they got a tip of course. With the exception of the desserts, the meals from the starters to the pizzas were good. It was the second time we went there in 3 months so we can say they appear quite reliable. It has also a nice atmosphere. Highly recommended if you are in the area!
