Italian restaurant Pizza Metro 64 Battersea Rise London SW11 1EQ
Pizza Metro
It has been over a month since we have been to Pizza Metro, not that we haven’t tried but it is often very busy. Tonight it looked good for a revisit. Last time we had the Ripieno which is a kind of calzone pizza with ricotta, parmesan, ham, basil, Napoli salame, tomatoes, and mozzarella (£9.95) and the Diego’s with mozzarella, buffalo ricotta, Napoli salame, rocket, basil, olive oil and parmesan (£9.95). This time we had again the Ripieno and I decided to try another pizza just to see if they were lucky previously or really good at cooking all kinds of pizzas 😉 The new pizza was the Panna pizza made of thick Italian cream, mushrooms, ham, Napoli salami, mozzarella, basil and parmesan (£9.95). We also ordered some sparkling water (£3.25) and a good Menabrea lager beer made with corn (£3.95). It is a little bitter in case you do not like bitter beer.
Good Menabrea beer
The two pizzas
Ripieno pizza
The Ripieno pizza was – as previously – very good. It is a pizza that holds its heat very well, so even if you take your time eating, is going to stay nice and hot and fresh to the end. It is not an especially crispy pizza, but has a nice mix of flavours. Definitely worth trying.
Panna pizza
The Panna pizza was also a good choice. Heavy cream on a pizza has the potential to be a bit sickly, but Pizza Metro get the balance right here. It is just enough cream to complement the rest of the toppings, but doesn’t overpower. Another good discovery.
Conclusion and cost: it was £31.11 with the 12.5% “optional” service charge included. As usual, I will complain about the service charge being automatically added to the bill. It should be fully left at the discretion of the clients. That said, in this case they deserved it as they were friendly and efficient. We really like the decor which is much better than at nearby Donna Margherita and the pizzas were better too this time. Highly recommended if you are near Clapham Junction!
Thai restaurant Banana Leaf Canteen 75 Battersea Rise London SW11 1HN
Banana Leaf Canteen
The Banana Leaf Canteen is quite a popular Thai restaurant in the Clapham Junction area. You can often see people queueing. Inside, the tables are like in a canteen but there are also some tables for two and they are quite large. I am sure on a very busy day it is possible to squeeze fit 4 people at them. You can see the kitchen from the dining area. We were sitting by the windows that were open, so I had my back right to the footpath & road.
As starters we had the Thai toast with coriander (minced pork and prawn toast with coriander and oriental seasoning, served with sweet chilli sauce – £3.95) and dark glazed “Chinkiang” ribs (£4.50), described as crunchy pork ribs tossed in sweet, tangy and spicy sauce made from the famous fragrant Chinkiang black rice vinegar.
As main courses, we took Ying Yang Laksa noodles with Thai fishcake (£8.25) – a mixture of wheat and rice noodles topped with our “house special” mildly spiced coconut broth laced with grilled aubergine, tofu and bean sprouts and garnished with lime wedge, coriander and crispy shallots; and Nasi Goreng with cashews & char grilled meat at £9.45. Banana Leaf’s Nasi Goreng is jasmine fried rice with Malaysian blended spices, eggs, cashew nuts, pak choy and coriander. Garnished with lime wedge, mixed salad and crispy shallots, and served with our mild chilli salsa. The nasi goreng is served with a choice between blackened sweet chilli pork or chicken bakar jawa. The blackened sweet chilli pork are slices of leg of pork marinated in aromatic dark soy, palm sugar, chilli, garlic and ground spices. The chicken bakar jawa is chicken thighs marinated in an array of Javanese aromatic spices slowly grilled. I opted for the sweet chilli pork.
The Thai toasts were not very good. They were too greasy and without much taste because of it. The Chinkiang ribs were quite good. They certainly weren’t crunchy as described (unless they imagined we’d eat the bones – which I imagine would be very crunchy indeed…). However, they were tasty with a sauce that tasted a bit peanuty (not spicy-vinegary). They could have used a bit more meat on them, but as a snack to start, were not too bad. It was nice to them to provide wet wipes as it was we needed to eat the ribs using fingers.
The laksa was fantastic – for those who like creamy, spicy food, this is nirvana. It was like drinking a very good Thai red curry. The only complaint I would have about this dish is that the Thai fishcakes were a bit strange – rather like fish-flavoured egg (I only ate half of them) and I have to say that another time (and there will certainly be another time) I would choose the chicken version as I suspect chicken would be much better. The tofu bits were not good, without any flavour. That was a minor part of the dish though, so my overall opinion is still positive (but if you’re going here, I suggest trying chicken or prawns rather than fishcake). The Nasi Goreng was quite good. The blackened sweet chilli pork were tasty, tender and nicely crispy on the outside. A really great meat. The rice was good too, but beware of the red chilli pepper. I chewed on one of them without realising it was a deadly weapon. Lots of beer was required after it and we had in all 4 bottles of Tiger beer (£13). They were cold fortunately, despite the current hot weather.
Thai toast with coriander
Dark glazed "Chinkiang" ribs
Overview of the two starters
Ying Yang Laksa noodles with Thai fishcake
Nasi Goreng with cashews & char grilled meat
Overview of the two main courses
Another view of the Ying Yang Laksa noodles with Thai fishcake
Beware of the chilli pepper!
Cost and conclusion: it was £43.07 with the 10% “optional” service charge included. I prefer when the tip is left fully at the discretion of the customer. The service was efficient, but a little slow when it came to the bill. Whilst we waited, we chatted to a nice guy who was into computers and had a MacBook Air Overall, a good place but do not bother with the starters as they were not that great and the main courses were much better and quite subtantial. Recommended if you are in the area! If you are into pizza, right accross the road you have Pizza Metro which is a good Italian restaurant. Into burgers? There is a Gourmet Burger Kitchen located 2 minutes walk away.
Tokiya Sushi Bar 74 Battersea Rise London SW11 1EH http://www.tokiya.co.uk
Reviewed on Sunday 14 June 2009
Tokiya Sushi Bar
I was looking for a real Japanese restaurant near Wandsworth Common and I finally found it! The restaurant is run by a couple of Japanese people who are originally from Sapporo. The sushi chef has over 30 years of experience and I have to say the food was simply delicious. The design inside is mostly black and it feels like a Japanese diner. At the entrance there is a Maneki Neko – the welcoming cat.
We ordered as starters an Agedashi tofu (Deep fried tofu with tempura sauce – £3.80), the California roll (5 pieces) made of avocado & crab stick & small fish roe with mayonnaise (£4.50) and the spicy salmon roll (5 pieces) made of spicy salmon with mayonnaise (£5). The beers were a Sapporo and an Asahi (£3.20 each). The spicy salmon was indeed hot. It does not get you instantly like a wasabi but it burns the mouth lightly. The California rolls were also very good. With the mayonnaise these Japanese dishes aren’t completely authentic but they are still very good The tofu was yummy and very hot! Be sure to cut it instead of taking the whole tofu at once. You are warned 😉
As main courses we had tonkatsu (Deep fried pork fillet – £9) and salmon teriyaki (Grilled Salmon with teriyaki sauce – £8). We also ordered two bowls of steamed plain rice (£1.50 each). The salmon was very good, with a crispy skin while being tender inside. The taste of the teriyaki sauce was perfect, not too sweet. The tonkatsu was perfectly cooked, crispy and not greasy. With the bulldog sauce and the Japanese mustard it was a very good meal.
As dessert I had an ice cream with green tea and black sesame flavour. It was lovely, very smooth. I love the green tea sweet and bitter taste and the particular taste of the sesame was really good. It is easy to write a review when everything is good… If I’m picky, I can find a few downsides: the bowl containing the tofu was a little chipped, the beer could have been colder. Well, they are pretty minor.
Asahi and Sapporo beers
Excellent Agedashi Tofu (£3.80)
California Roll & Spicy salmon Roll
Tonkatsu (£9)
Salmon Teriyaki (£8)
Green tea and black sesame ice cream
Cost and conclusion: the total cost was just below £40 and there is no service charge as is the custom in Japan. We appreciate it. The food was excellent and the service friendly. I wish I had discovered this place sooner! We will be back!
Pizza Metro Traditional Neapolitan Restaurant 64 Battersea Rise London SW11 1EQ
Reviewed on Tuesday 2 June 2009
Pizza Metro is apparently the first restaurant in London to cook their metre long pizzas in a wood burning oven. That was in 1993. We did not order a metre pizza even if it would have been fun taking a photo of it. For a half metre rectangular pizza the price is the same as two round pizzas so we prefered the classical rounded way. We saw some tables getting a metre pizza and it is quite impressive because it is put on a raised baking tray that is at eye level. Not too convenient for chatting across the table but fun to watch! The atmosphere is very Italian with a map of Italy, giant bottles of wine next to the windows, frypans attached to the walls. Several customers were also Italians. A good sign
We ordered two pizzas: the Ripieno which is a kind of calzone pizza with ricotta, parmesan, ham, basil, Napoli salame, tomatoes, and mozzarella (£9.95) and the Diego’s with mozzarella, buffalo ricotta, Napoli salame, rocket, basil, olive oil and parmesan (£9.95). We had a bottle of red wine Angelo Rosso Sicilia 2007 (£16). The Diego’s had an extremely thin base that was nicely crispy on the edges. I really enjoy thin base pizzas. The toppings were excellent too and the creamy buffalo ricotta was a great touch to the pizza. I was a little surprised my pizza was precut but it was fine. I guess it is easier when kids eat at the restaurant. The Ripieno (not precut of course) was good, and very hot due to the folding design of that pizza. The tomato sauce used in the pizzas had a good “real tomato” taste. The pizza base had a nice flavour, and the mix of ingredients in the pizza was well balanced (nothing nasty, like too salty ham, for example). It was just a little ‘different’ with the buffalo ricotta. I liked that there was also mozarella as I find just ricotta in a calzone to be a bit bland. The pizza base could have been a bit crispier, but it wasn’t soggy either. The spicy oil could also have been spicier. As desserts we had a chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and a vanilla panna cotta. The waiter came with a plate of desserts and these were the ones we chose. The chocolate cake was nice, not too sweet at all, and moist in the centre, crispy on the outside. The vanilla panna cotta was great: light enough, not too sweet and with some crumbles on top that were a good addition.
Entertaining design
At the right in the back there is the food burning oven
Huge bottles by the windows
Pizza Ripieno
Pizza Diego's
The chilli oil!
Detailed view of the pizza Ripieno
Detailed view of the pizza Diego's
Vanilla panna cotta
Chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream
Cost and conclusion: the total bill was £53.89. It already included the service charge, something I dislike since it should be up to the client to decide on. That said, the service was excellent (friendly and paying attention) so they deserved it. The bill was a little on the expensive side but at least the lunch was good. While we found the pizzas better than at Buona Sera located 5 minutes walk away we still prefer the pizzas at Franco Manca (in Brixton) and at Rustica (in Richmond).
