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

See : The Imperial War Museum & the Saatchi Gallery

As many of you know, I have had the last few months off work as I recovered from a rather important operation. As soon as I got mobile again, I wanted to make sure that I got out as much as possible, partly to maintain a level of sanity but probably more importantly, see a bit of London. In the past few weeks, I have revisited the Tate Modern, eaten at loads of great restaurants, gone for walks round places I had previously neglected (such as the Southbank and Soho) as well as visiting various museums and caught up with lots of friends. And one takeaway from this, London is great!

Amongst some of my unblogged exploits are the Imperial War Museum and the Saatchi Gallery. Not only are they a great way to spend an afternoon, but perhaps more importantly, they are both free.

Imperial War Museum, Elephant and Castle




I had never gone to the Imperial War Museum before. To me, the thought was that it was a big dreary exhibition all about death. How wrong I was. This is all made clear as soon as you enter the light and airy main room filled with vehicles from the past, including, planes, tanks and missiles. It was genuinely exciting to walk amongst these beasts of the past and instead of ignoring the past, embracing it. The museums focus is definitely not just on death and hardship but of the people who partook in the war and what it meant to many of them. This interspersed with various bits of memorabilia and interesting artefacts led to a thoroughly interesting morning.




Current exhibitions include an exhibition on the holocaust (which I didn't get a chance to get to, will get there as soon as I have another free afternoon) as well as exhibitions on the Children's War and an interesting exhibition on the "Secret War", detailing exploits of MI5, MI6 and the SAS.

I really enjoyed walking through here and felt better with myself having re-educated myself on one of our darker passages of history.

The Saatchi Gallery, Kings Road


The Saatchi Gallery is also a free museum located at the top end of the Kings Road. When I visited, it was currently exhibiting modern artwork from the Middle East although most installations are temporary and rotate.



Split into 14 different galleries, the pieces were cleverly hung and positioned in a light and airy space and I never felt crowded, often a problem in more intimate galleries. Although busy, I had a chance to fully enjoy the pieces and walked around untroubled and unhurried.



As to the art, these varied from sculptures to some quite intricate paintings. A large part of the art expressed much of the hardship experienced by many in this part of the world as well as one room highlighting the development of the woman's role in these societies by replacing their heads with everyday utensils such as an iron and a sieve!



I often enjoy reading the little placards next to paintings telling me a little about the painting and the artist. At the end of the day, I'm not an art snob and need a bit of guidance. These were nowhere to be seen although you could purchase a guide from reception for a measly £1.50. This was a worthwhile investment; after all, the gallery is free! I guess they need to raise funds somehow.



All in all, another excellent place to visit in London. We really are spoilt.
For more pictures, please feel free to visit my Flickr here.

Details
Imperial War Museum London
Lambeth Road
London SE1 6HZ

THE SAATCHI GALLERY
Duke of York's HQ, King's Road
Chelsea, London, SW3 4SQ, U.K.

Eat British : Bluebird, Kings Road

I've been a bit of slack with updates of late. Although it looks as if I have been pretty lazy of late, I have been getting out there and doing stuff. I'm just very lazy when it comes to writing it up. Anyway, with my return to the working population imminent, I better get my arse in gear and do a bit of catch up blogging! First up, my lunch at Bluebird.

Normally, I avoid the Kings Road like the plague but this appears to be my second visit in as many weeks. First for my sisters 25th birthday (drinks at the Botanist then dancing at Kitts) and now because imp drawn to a free gallery like a moth to a flame. So before my visit to the nearby Saatchi Gallery, I went looking for some food.

And what a chore that was. Everywhere seems too overpriced and frankly bad value. I spent what felt like an eternity, trekking from one restaurant to another, looking for a decent deal. Eventually I ended up at Bluebird which had a pretty decent lunch menu going on.


The last time I went to Bluebird was with a group of uni friends on an Evening Standard "2 courses for a tenner". That was nearly ten years to go and the space is still as beautiful as I remember. A highly elegant room. Staff were attentive and quick and I was ushered to a table by the window (it wasn't that busy) and was brought some bread (a really nice garlic roll) whilst I perused the set menu choices.


First course, Rillette of Old Spot Pork with Piccalilli. This was delicious. The rillette was filled with porky goodness and was perfectly complemented by the tart vinegariness of the piccalilli. Even the accompanying watercress added a slight pepperiness. A very good course.


For the main, I had the Goosnargh Chicken and Mushroom pie. Now I love chicken and mushroom pie at the best of times and this was a very good example. Lovely torn bits of chicken, no signs of processed chunks, in a lovely creamy sauce. No complaints here. The sides of mash and spinach were competently done and full of flavour.


By the time I was done with the pie, I was verging on the very full and was regretting ordering the apple pie for dessert. However, what arrived was a quite straightforward apple tart tatin. Nicely caramelised and actually pretty small, it was the perfect size just to round off the meal.


The set menu comes to £15.50 for 3 courses and for food of this quality, it was an absolute bargain. To think that ten years ago, I was a struggling student and thought 2 courses for a tenner was a good deal! If I'm ever in the area again, I'm coming back.

Eat Burgers : Byron, Kings Road

Prior to an evening out on the lash celebrating my middle sister's birthday, I decided to hook up with my old chum and converted carnivore (he now eats carrots and sometimes mushrooms), Michael, and visit Byron on the Kings Road. Having eaten at their High Street Ken branch before, I pretty much knew what to expect and was looking forward to a decent burger.

Making my way from Victoria, I caught the number 11 bus but seriously underestimated how far down the Kings Road Byron actually was and ended getting off far too early. No matter, it was a lovely crisp dry evening and a good walk was what I needed.


Now, as chance would have it, I "conveniently" bumped into one of gossip mag's favourite targets. Now Lindsay, please stop harassing me. Read between the lines, ITS OVER! Please stop stalking me. Hmm...


Anyway, after that brief brush with Hollywood, it's off for that burger. Having arrived early, I perused the menu whilst sipping on my Oreo shake. The shake by the way is thick and lovely and packed with bits of Oreo. A result in its own right. The menu itself is fairly limited but at the end of the day, this place is a burger restaurant and doesn't pretend to be anything else.


I went for the signature Byron burger with sides of fries and coleslaw. With its provenance plastered everywhere (sourced exclusively from Morayshire, Scotland!) it's essentially a beef burger with cheese and bacon. And not a bad one I must say. The beef was flavoursome, if a little on the dry side. They are meant to be cooked medium but mine was definitely erring on the side of well done. Garnishes were good with a decent pickle and nice sauce. I rather liked the bun too, a very important part of a good burger. It was nice and soft, retained its shape and didn't go soggy. Fries were pretty decent although nothing to crazy over and coleslaw good too.

As burgers go, this place was enjoyable and well worth a visit. One minus, there was an off putting smell of gas lingering around but as my mate pointed out, there are lots of candles everywhere, and if we were going to be blown up, we would already be in small pieces. Strangely reassuring.