Colchester

Firstly, can I just say that I’m the BIGGEST Strada fan ever. Everything about the brand is perfect; the friendly staff, the inarguable food quality, great value for money and the whole ambiance of the restaurants. I commend the consistency of the restaurants as well because I know I will get the same service in any restaurant I go to; Kingston, Putney, Stratford, Colchester etc.

Now for my 100% honest review.

STARTER
Olives {7/10}
They were green, juicy and looked extra fresh. They also came with the pip/stone/seed still intact, I suppose this showed how fresh it was but I would’ve preferred them without the stones.

Schiacciatella aglio flatbread- Hand-stretched rosemary bread {10/10}
In the past, I always picked the anchovies and capers flatbread (never take that off the menu by the way) so I was looking forward to a different version of it and I wasn’t disappointed. I loved how it was a bit crispy, soft in some places and still warm. The rosemary added a delicate warm herby touch to it as well. Also, the portion was very generous. It would be lovely if it came with some sort of dip, perhaps the olive tapenade or a well marinated tomato salsa.

Antipasto {8/10}
This was just beautiful! I felt like I died and went to heaven. I was impressed with the presentation, it looked slightly rustic but inviting and appetising. I LOVED the variety and freshness of the different meats as well and the price on the menu was very reasonable. I would’ve liked more of the tapenade though which myself and my sister thought was the highlight of the platter. The bruschetta pomodoro was a bit plain, please please please take it off the menu and put on the old bruschetta recipe- with the caramelised red peppers and tomatoes and goats cheese, sometimes it was the only reason I visited Strada. This new bruschetta pomodoro was just plain, bland and nothing special- basically just chopped up tomatoes to me.

MAINS
Strozzapretti pugliese- Twisted pasta with sausage pieces, pancetta and brocolli {4/10}
Taste is a major factor for me when eating anything which explains why this disappointed me. The flavours would’ve worked so well if there was more of everything. The pasta itself tasted like more salt needed to be added to it when it was cooking. The sausage pieces were measly; there was only few of them.The brocolli was a bit random. I suggest taking this off the menu or developing it further. Since it’s a twisty pasta like fusilli, make the sauce a bit thicker so that it ‘wraps’ itself around the pasta and fills its coils. Make the sausage pieces chunkier and use a different vegetable perhaps rocket, spinach or bell peppers. Or perhaps use a different sausage meat like chorizo. The dish as a whole was lacking something and everything.

Risotto zucca- A light pumpkin and butternut squash risotto {150/10}
Do you know how easy it is to get risotto wrong? I know because I’ve done that a few times, so I really appreciate good risotto when I see one because I can see how much thought and effort has been taken to get it perfectly right and this dish was amazingly perfect! Who even thought of the combination of the squashes? Gosh! If I could eat it forever, I really would. It was light, delicate, sweet but savoury, had a beautiful aroma and was very lovely to look at. It was also a nice change from pasta.

Quattro stagioni- 4-quarter pizza {6/10}
Hmmm a different take on the half and half pizza but I don’t think it worked. It seemed a bit confused and chaotic. Although I think it’s great for when you’re out with a vegetarian friend and you wanna split the cost and share one pizza because one quarter was roasted artichokes, one of chestnut mushrooms, one of ham and one of sausage. It’s a great idea but it felt like it needed to be more alive. Perhaps some rich tomato sauce on the base and maybe some herbs or something. The pizza base itself was perfect though, I’ve always been a fan of Strada’s pizza base.

Saltimbocca maiale- Tender pork fillet with buttery mash potatoes and a sage butter sauce with green beans {8/10}
I really really enjoyed eating this dish especially because the pork was cooked to perfection; it was juicy, succulent, tender and not dry as pork is quite easy to overcook. It would’ve been nice to taste more of the sage though because it was just hiding in the background. Also, I don’t think there was any need for a lot of butter in the mash partly because the sage sauce was already buttery. Perhaps make the mash less buttery and more fluffy and then add more sage to the butter sauce. Or keep the mash as it it but use a white creamy sage sauce instead of the butter sauce.

Orata al forno- Fresh whole sea bream with delicious potatoes {10/10}
Just perfect! The fish was extra extra fresh and was cooked to perfection as well. I liked that it was seasoned lightly to bring out the taste of the sea bream. The roast potatoes were well-cooked and accompanied it well.

DESSERT
Affogato- Semi-freddo nougat ice cream with a shot espresso {8/10}
I’ve never had anything like this before because when it comes to dessert, I tend to stick to sorbets or cake so this was different for me. It was creamy, sweet and delicate; everything you would want from a great dessert. I liked that the espresso was in a little pot and that they didn’t just assume that everyone would want it poured over the icecream. So this option left room for experimentation; it tasted delicious with or without the espresso shot.

Bunet piemontese- A chocolate-style amaretto Panna cotta {7/10}
The combination of amaretto and chocolate was very pleasant. And the texture was smooth with bits of amaretti biscuits on top which I loved but I felt it needed more gelatin in it to make it a bit firmer. Also perhaps a bit more dark chocolate for that intense bittersweet taste which would’ve complemented the amaretto liqueur a bit more.

Pistachio gelato {100000/10}
The star of the show! One of the things I could eat forever is any kind of gelato and I would happily eat this one everyday. I was absolutely blown away at how something so simple could make such an impact on me. The delicate and subtle flavour of the pistachios was what took me by surprise as well as the pale green colour which made it look really inviting. Myself and my sister loved it so much that we had to order another portion. Despite the fact that we were full, there was space for a great-tasting dessert. Absolutely sublime!

PS. Please can you put the pear sorbet back on the menu please? It was always something I looked forward to.

All in all, I was extremely happy with the Strada experience; the quality of each and every one of the dishes, the friendly staff, the beautiful warm atmosohere and the thought and effort that went behind creating a masterpiece of a menu and bringing each dish to life. I am extremely grateful for the food reviewing experience, I will never forget it.

If it’s okay, I will be putting this review on my food blog (http://foodlattio.wordpress.com/) this week along with pictures so people can be aware of the range of delicious dishes that Strada has to offer.

The olives were a good vibrant green, young, salty.
The breads were delicious, light, crispy,especially the rosemary one this herb really enhances the flavour of the bread.
Mozarella had a good texture, limp salad - needed more crunch to compliment the cheese, parma ham perfect, salty and good taste
Sausage good but lacked presentation
Pizza excellent,perfectly cooked, crispy and full of flavour
Sea bass was our favourite, light, delicate, delicious, probably better without cold rocket.The other vegetables went very well with the fish
Pasta and risotto dishes were good - more bacon, Saltibocca was again a balanced and delicious meal (2nd favourite)
Desserts - a bit disappointing. The Bunet was very good but poor presentation.The Affogato was smooth and had a nice texture.

A pleasant welcome and shown to the table promptly. Being a family of four felt quite restricted with the table space we had and this wasn't addressed until later on in our dining experience.

There was no heating in the restaurant and children and I felt quite cold. Drinks order was hurried which I just wanted time to settle than order at my leisure restaurant was far from busy at 3pm in the afternoon!

The starter of olives came out then the next dish so on and so forth. Felt a little rushed and the lack of space we couldnt really enjoy the dishes in the manner I had hoped.

I would have preferred the main meals to have come out on single plates rather than big plates where we had to share out the portions.

Finally desserts were offered and for a family of four I dont think 1 of each dessert was sufficient enough…... although we were quite full at this stage! The pistachio ice-cream had to be returned straight away as it had a hair on it!

A pleasant experience and very friendly waitress Sian, however would have preferred a slightly different less hurried dining experience and the main dishes to have been served in a different manner….. Felt slightly put off by the big plates and I dont think the small side plates that we had to serve the dishes on were good enough.

I would like to return one day but I would like to sample a different menu. If another opportunity like this arises do please think of us!

As a fan of Strada I expected a lovely meal, but I was pleasantly surprised by a FANTASTIC meal!

I’ve tried a couple of items on the menu in the past, but I always tend to have the same meal each time I visit the restaurant, as I have my favourites! However, being served all the dishes from the new menu means I can honestly say that next time I visit the restaurant I will be ordering something different as the new dishes we tasted were beautiful and really, really tasty.

The only slight let down were the desserts; in my opinion and those of my friends dining with me, the selection was poor and we felt that a warm option might be nice on the menu. The tastes and flavours found in the desserts were quite intense which I think means fewer people will try them as there didn’t seem to be something that everyone would like on there.

This is a minor criticism, the entire experience was fabulous and the food was lovely, we left feeling very satisfied and, as explained, sure to try something different on our next visit which we plan to make soon. The staff were, as they always are, warm and friendly and nothing was too much trouble. This restaurant is a pleasure to visit and dine at and we shall be doing so regularly! Thank you.

I really enjoyed my visit to Strada, the food was brilliant and the service was great.

I tried the Antipasto and garlic bread for my starter and it was delicious! I will definitely be ordering that again. The main course was tasty too, I had the Orata Al Forno which I enjoyed. I will definitely be coming back to visit again, thanks to Miguil and Ryan who served, they were very friendly and helpful.

Well what can I say! Strada knows how to prepare and present food. Dishes like Risotto and Fish that can easily be overcooked and spoil were cooked to perfection. Hats off to the chef!

The Risotto Zucca just melts in your mouth in creamy perfection and The Orata Al Forno, a whole sea bream, is impressively presented, generous in portion and full flavoured.

The deserts that I sampled were not what I would have picked ordinarily. However, they were unique and creative. The Bunet Piemontese was creamy and delicate. The shot of espresso over the Affrogato was innovative and very pleasant, the flavour complementing the iced nougat perfectly. I was dubious about nut flavoured icecream but was pleasantly surprised to find the Pistachio Gelato to be a subtle delicate flavour, light and refreshing.

My small disappointments were as follows. I found the olives a little flavourless and very salty to my taste. The Strozzaptretti Pugliese pasta had a nice chilli kick but was a little dry. The Quattro Stagioni pizza was somewhat bland and could have been more generously topped, although the base was crisp and delicious.

My highlight had to be the Saltimbocca Maiale, a pork fillet with crisp parma ham on a bed of the most creamy, whipped mash I have ever tasted, drizzled with a delicious buttery sage sauce and paired with a dressed al dente green bean salad providing that little bit of crunch. It was a taste sensation!

The overall feel of Strada, Colchester is contemporary and sophisticated, yet ambient; warm lighting and comfortable. The service is impeccable. I very much look forward to my next visit.

A mixed bag and, probably, an unrepresentative evening.

The evening chosen just happened to be the Colchester restaurant staff Christmas party, which meant that the entire staff were actually from Chelmsford. Although this may not ordinarily be a problem there were a couple of large parties in the restaurant that evening and it soon became apparant that there was a shortage of staff.

Having chosen our wine the waiter returned to apologise that our choice of white wine had run out and recommended another which we agreed upon. Unfortunately he had to return as this wine had also run out - maybe the regular staff would have been aware of this.As mentioned before, there was obviously a shortage of staff as there was a 20 minute interval between each course which is just far too long.

On the positive side we tried all of the dishes on the tasting menu (there were 4 of us) and were extremely impressed with both the quality and the flavours.
The olives were enjoyed by everybody including my wife who is not ordinarily an olive lover.
All agreed that the risotto and the pasta were fabulous.
Both the fish and the pork were both cooked perfectly (excellent work under pressure) and the accompaniments were lovely.
Everybody really liked the Bunet Piemontese and the 2 coffee lovers seriously enjoyed the Affogato.

Conclusion: Really, really enjoyable well cooked and well thought out food, shame that 2 white wines on a short wine list were unavailable and slow service on a Monday evening. But the staff were absolutely doing their best, can’t knock them for that.