The Neal Street Restaurant

The Neal Street Restaurant

Neal Street Restaurant
26 Neal Street
London
WC2H 9QW
Tel.: 0207 836 8368
Fax.: 0207 240 3964

Tuesday, 8th October 2002

Once again, I’m on business in London. This time, my wife Marg has accompanied me, and we arranged to meet my brother and his partner in town for dinner.

We meet in a little pub just off Trafalgar Square and have a nice couple of pints, but can’t decide where to eat, so amble off towards Covent Garden.

As we wander down Neal Street, my brother and I peruse the menu at the Neal Street Restaurant.

I have done this a few times before, but have never been in the position to actually go in for a meal – its either been too late, too early, on my own, or not hungry. This time, there was a resounding “yes” vote so in we went.

We were a little worried that because we hadn’t made a reservation, we would be out of luck – but no, they found us a table. We were made to feel welcome, and the staff were attentive and professional.

The menu was enticing – lots of choice, and quite removed from the fare of formulaic Italian restaurants. Marg and I had eaten lunch, and were not hungry enough to order starters.

My brother ordered a dish of Pappardelle with Cinghiale (Wild Boar) and his partner chose the Mixed Antipasto. We all tried each of them and were particularly impressed with the pappardelle – scrumptious!

A bottle of Morellino (Sangiovese) and a couple of bottles of mineral water were delivered.

Main course: Marg chose the same dish of pappardelle, my brother went for “Fegato Veneziana” (Liver) and his partner and I both chose the Faraona (Guinea Fowl).

For dessert, Marg opted out, my brother’s partner chose the Tiramisu, and my brother and I asked whether they could prepare a “proper” zabaglione? Yes – there it was on the menu. Well, a variation – zabaglione on top of berries and coulis.

The tiramisu was “as good as momma makes”, and the zabaglione was “perfetto”, if a little mean in portion size.

The bill came to £45 per head, including service, and we all felt that the price reflected the quality we’d received.

We could not fault any of the dishes, we were more than satisfied with the food, the ambience and the service.

Verdict: Excellent, “I’ll be back”!

Sandro Melkuhn