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A quick tweet by the owners daughter and I had been invited along to Piazza Restaurant in Leicester Square to do a review.  I do adore Italian food, ok, so I love most food and so naturally with excited anticipation and a rumbling tummy I made my way there.  I got off the train and found the correct entrance, it was kind of obvious, and I made my way up the stairs and onto the high street.  Literally across the road on an attached road was the restaurant, how convenient considering I was wearing some high lovely heels.

I will admit you really can’t tell from the outside the quality of food that is available here and could easily walk straight passed assuming it is just another run of the meal Italian.  The decor is not excessive and it has a homely relaxed feel.  The staff are all very friendly, attentive and efficient.

There are different parts to the restaurant so don’t be fooled it’s larger than one would think.  There is seating at the front outside then the main seating area.  Outside at the back there is a little heated section and another floor upstairs provides more seating.  The menu is good, there is a great selection of dishes that will delight both carnivore and vegetarians but not too many and they stick with the Italian theme.

We ordered 2 starters to share.

Calamari

Simple yet pretty presentation, it’s didn’t last for long as we dove straight in!  The Calamari it’s self was sliced into good sized pieces and these were coated with a yummy, nicely seasoned crispy coating.  The portion size was generous for a starter and I for one was pleased having eaten very little all day.

Antipasto Misto

Again a good sized portion with a selection of meat that was not too fatty and tasted delicious.

The garlic bread was gorgeous and I found myself dipping it into the olive oil and Balsamic vinegar glaze that was in the olive dish to enjoy all the flavours.  They have a choice of 2 sizes and this one was the small one!

We were extremely happy so far and ready to see what the mains would be like.

I decided to go with a classic Italian dish so I selected the:

Spaghetti Bolognaise

OMG the portion looked rather big!  I also opted for a sprinkle of cheese.

The sauce in this dish had been mixed in with the pasta which I rather liked.  Often I find that you just get a dollop on top and it’s generally insufficient to give the pasta a good coating.  A lovely rich tomato sauce that was nice and meaty.  The meat used was a great quality not being full of grisly pieces.  I really did want to finish this but did failed miserably.  Note to self, next time I visit just get one starter to share.

My friend had the:

Pollo Siciliana

This was comprised of a chicken breast topped with prosciutto ham and melted mozzarella served with roast potatoes and vegetables topped with a brandy cream sauce.  The potatoes were lovely and crispy and the vegetables still had a bit of bite to them as they should.  The chicken was tender and juicy and the prosciutto added some delicious saltiness to the dish.  You could not mistake the taste of brandy in the creamy sauce that married all the individual ingredients in the dish together.  A great hearty meal that is sure to satisfy any hunger pangs.

We debated whether to attempt to eat a dessert and settled on one to share.  Our selection was simple as this one was homemade:

Tiramisu

I am partial to a Tiramisu with it’s delicious creamy mascarpone and soft sponge and rich coffee and liqueur flavours create a gorgeously heavenly dessert.  I might have added a touch more alcohol If I had made this but this was very good.  If we were not so full we would have had one each.

How lucky was I to come across this restaurant.  With great service, food, enormous portions and reasonable prices.

As always this review is based on my own opinion which has not been influenced by the fact that I did not pay.  Don’t forget that by the time I have paid for my transport and left a tip, combined with the time spent going there and back, time there and also time spent writing after my costs far exceed those of the meal.  I enjoy visiting and writing about good restaurants and hope to continue to do so for some time.