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Tuesday 9 April 2013

The French Spring A Leak

2 courses for £12. Oh La La...


The Imaginary Cage


Pretty Romantic Bone China eh ?


Rose Wine + Red Mesh Bow On Real Red Rose


Painting the Scene: Gold Frame, Gold Dimmer Switch


Laying It On Thick With A Red Rose


Squid Rings.


Imagine This Is French Onion Soup


Batchelors Packet Noodles Anyone ?


Strawberry Cheesecake Served On A Scallop


Tiny Crumbs Of Comfort


How An Artist Imagines The Cage



#41  Time for Fun


Ooh La La.


Some restaurants become your favourites because the food is par excellence... or because the ambience is cosy, and relaxing or the location homely and handy or because the other patrons who go there are friendly and stimulating to be around. 

Sometimes they become your favourites because you felt it a risky business going in...and ended up spending a lot of time laughing and giggling at your table. We have a phrase that refers to that as banking tummy dollars. We banked lots of dollars at La Cage Imaginaire.

This was so cliched romantic in the wrong way that it kind of worked in the right way. The food was a surprise too. We ordered fresh wild Salmon on a bed of spaghetti and recognised the kinks found in Batchelors packet noodles. The French Onion Soup, a classic staple of any french restaurant resembled brown water with two bread flotillas that were stopping the dried onion from drowning. We ordered a homemade strawberry cheesecake and suspected the homemade bit was removing the wrapping in the kitchen. And we should add, even though we ordered it for one to share, it was very kindly cut into two pieces and served on two separate shiny black Scallop shaped plates with real stawberries diced alongside.

To conclude even the most staunch Francophile might be bemused not to find an authentic frenchman in this Romantic restaurant. Our waiter was Ukranian and the kitchen was being replenished by a little Chinese delivery man running in off the street. We let our imagination run wild that the chef had a french auntie.

Now sadly I don't parlais Francais and I am going to have to take a wild guess that 'La Cage Imaginaire' means the Imaginary Cage... or well at least that's how I like to think it means. A cage that on the one hand traps you and doesn't let you leave and on the other lets your imagination run wild... It's a dangerous combination.

We kind of thought this might be a place that Gordon Ramsay's TV producer would like to get their hands on. 

But no thanks Gordon, no make overs here please we love it just as it is...




Friday 5 April 2013

LA COLLINA




Inside Outside



Free Olives, Tiny Mini Pizzas.



Spaghetti alle Vongole. Clam Pasta.



Footsie Under The Table x



The Aperitif Wine



And The Vines


Gratin scallops, bread crumbs, sun-dried tomato, garlic, lemon wedge



Whirr Whirr, Twirl.



Chicory Salad with Walnuts and Parmigiano



Homemade Wild Mushroom, Black Truffle Ravioli topped with Crayfish tails



Al Fresco Subterranean Garden



Tiramisu to Share



#40 Naughty Forty


Running Up The Hill 

Recently I have taken to running up the hill. I dont think its the hill which Kate Bush referred to, as I havent been trying to make any deals with god. Just trying to enjoy the green lung capacity of a metropolitan city. The hill being Primrose Hill.

'The Hill' when translated in Italian is 'La Collina' and the aptly named La Collina is a fantastic, discreet, modern Italian restaurant with a homemade feel located near the bottom southern end of Primrose Hill.

The restaurant is essentially a warm home from home, which is enhanced by the proprietor's clever choice of acquiring a residential georgian town house. It's ambience feels like just another neighbour going about its business. One neighbour is The Albert Pub which is a lovely place to have a pre dinner drink.

Spike Milligan would have loved it here at La Collina. Spike felt that piped music made a nice place into a noisy nice place. La Collina achieves a perfectly attractive quiet, where only the happy contented chatter of fellow diners fills the white walled rooms and leafy exterior garden space. 

La Collina knows a thing or two about their wine and their homemade pasta and it is not a huge surprise it has become one of our Favourite Places To Eat over the last 3 years. Only once have we witnessed a menu mix up and on that occasion our fellow Japanese diners were offered the whole plate as a free appetiser, while the intended choice was prepared again exactly from scratch. It is this sort of genuine hospitable service that makes a good restaurant into a memorable one that you go back to.

The menu is always great and never disappoints as sometimes generic modern Italian food can do. On occasion some Italians have acquired the distinct reputation of over selling their wares. Here the reputation is effortlessly engineered by the quality of their ingredients and recipes. La Collina's Homemade Wild Mushroom Ravioli or Gratin Scallops served in their shells are a prime example of a whole kind of fresh and delicious.

The only evident problem with La Collina is it's the sort of place you want to keep a secret and not to blog about. 

It was a tough decision and if we unable to get a table next time we will probably know why.



Favourite Places To Eat

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