Baker Street

I recently had the opportunity to dine at Strada as an official Strada Food Reviewer.
I was delighted, I took a couple of friends whom gave me lots of feed back
We lunched at the Baker Street brunch sampling the tasting menu. An array of classic Italian dishes were served
Starters:
Large green Castelvetrano olives, fresh from Sicily, they were super tasty I love olives, these were fresh, firm, juicy and full of flavour. Also, served Antipasto this included Parma ham, Napoli salami and speck ham from Trentino, Buffalo mozzarella with tasty vine-ripened tomatoes sliced, an olive tapenade, was really delicious a very strong flavour almost a paste (I’ve never had this before) I could had eaten this by myself and bruschetta pomodoro. All a lovely balance meal, something for everyone to share. Served with Schiacciatella Aglio Flat Bread, served warm this garlic and rosemary flat bread, smelt divine but tasted even better, dropping in melted butter.

Mains:
The mains were a assortment of 5 courses as this was a tasting menu we shared the different main courses.

Orata al Forno, a whole sea bream, pan roasted with lemon & thyme, served with green salad and roasted new potatoes.
The fish tasted fresh, moist full of flavour a very delicate fish dish. The vegetables complimented the fish. All cooked spot on the fish crumbled in my mouth. However we all noticed that the fish had many bones, spoilt this main.

Risotto Zucca, the Risotto was my favourite dish made with pumpkin, butternut squash, pancetta, spinach, pine nuts. This was a definitely everyone’s favorite, lots of fresh delicate flavours coming through and so creamy. Not a heavy risotto nor too rich, my taste buds had a little dance every mouthful.

Strozzapreti Pugliese, a classic dish from Puglia. The Strozzapreti pasta had little pieces of Luganica sausage, pancetta, a broccoli garnish, mixed with red chilli butter, Grana Padano cheese.
The pasta was fresh and light, the sausage juicy, not fatty. I couldn’t taste the Pancetta but the broccoli was firm, very pleasant. The chilli butter gave a great balance to the dish. I love spicy food and this wasn’t over powering, the chilli butter gave a gentle kick without displacing the other flavours.

Saltimbocca Maiale. This pork fillet served with crispy Parma ham, served with mashed potato, green beans and a sage butter sauce.
The potato & greens cooked well, however I felt this dish let down the meal. The pork was tough and tasteless and cooked in too much butter or oil. Myself and my guests all agreed this.

Quattro Stagioni pizza. This is a show stopper of a pizza, had something for everyone each slice different; Luganica sausage, Italian cotto ham, roasted artichoke and chestnut mushrooms. We all enjoyed different pieces. The pizza was perfectly cooked, a lovely thin base and the topping cooked just right and not over topped with topping and fresh herbs came through on taste and the aroma.

Desserts:

Affogato. This iced nougat semi-freddo ice cream with a shot of hot, fresh espresso. The ice cream is rich and milky, the espresso strong an awesome combination, the balance overall perfect in flavours, not too rich.
Bunet Piemontese is a soft rich custard, topped with crushed Amaretti biscuits a dash of amaretto liqueur.
This creamy chocolate ice-cream is almost like a heavy mousse, it was delicious, the biscuits & amaretto really made this dessert something special. Chocolate lovers will come back for more.
Pistachio Gelato, is a very refreshing, light and a great palette cleanser. I love Pistachinos this really is a wonderful way to end a meal. fresh, creamy & very tasty full of love.
Me & My guests had a wonderful meal! Thank you