Friday, June 12, 2009

Eat Italian: La Famiglia, Kings Road


Its tradition in my family that whenever there is a birthday to be celebrated, we all get together as a family and go have a meal. With sister no. 3 back from the wilds of Scotland (well, Edinburgh), sister no 2’s birthday was the first time we had sat down as a family in a very long time.

After a few hiccups with regards to shut restaurants and re-arranging dates to accommodate people, a destination was set, the aptly named La Famiglia.

La Famiglia, I believe, is a family run restaurant just off the Kings Road and has quite a local following. I for one have been oblivious to the existence of this place (after all, entering this part of town normally brings me out in some sort of rash) but it has been known to feed local A-listers. The restaurant itself is split into various sections but is homely throughout with the walls adorned with what I can assume are the owners family. So where better to spend dinner with my own family? To the food...


As you can see from the pic, the menu is a bit everywhere. The choice really is astounding; I know I struggled to decide on what I wanted. This was further complicated by the tango of finding out what my sisters and parents were going to have, after all, we wanted to try a bit of everything, the Chinese way.


I started with the Mozzarella in Carrozza, essentially deep fried mozzarella with a tomato sauce. These two lumps (is that the correct terminology?) of cheese were well fried, with just the right of bounce and complemented by a tasty oregano based tomato sauce. Nice? Very. Worth £7.50? HOW MUCH!! So, a bit on the pricey side.


For my main, after much umming and ahhing, I settled on the Manzo Marietta. This is a very simple dish of thin slices of beef cooked with oil and garlic. Its dishes like this which really emphasises when simplicity wins the day. This was delicious and light. I can’t really say more than that.

Other dishes ordered around the table included veal, carpaccio, calamari and pasta. All were competently cooked and flavoursome. Out of all the dishes ordered, I can happily say that I made the right choice.

The staff are lovely and attentive and the general atmosphere of the restaurant was understated and familiar. They even brought out my sisters cake and sliced it for us free of charge (it was from Konditor and Cook, and best of all, bright pink! Wish I had taken a picture).

La Famiglia must be doing something right. Having been located in such an exclusive postcode for so long can only be because they are giving the locals what they want. Good food, great surroundings and impeccable service. Only criticisms, the menu could do with shedding a few pounds, primarily from its length, but also from the cost. The menu should say “If you can’t afford it, get your butt back down to South London!” Which I swiftly did.

La Famiglia (Website)
7 Langton Street, SW10 0JL

La Famiglia on Urbanspoon

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