Nice one Pablo... Drinks at Picasso

If you're vaguely familiar with the Kings Road at all, surely you'll have heard of Picasso. It's a real King's Road institution, having been around 40 years ago as a traditional "caff" when the road was still at the heart of bohemian London, and having survived several decades, several economic booms and troughs and still kept that traditional charm. Indeed, Sarah's mum, who joined us last Friday for drinks at one of her old haunts, remembers hanging out there when she was in her 20s and working locally for Ossie Clark (cue lots of first job envy!). So understandably, there was a lot of local curiosity when Picasso shut its doors this year for a total refurb, and re-emerged under the ownership of the rather swanky Black&Blue group.

However, like a phoenix from the flames, what has emerged from the rubble is a really gorgeous local venue, which hasn't lost any charm and still manages not to be pretentious or ostentatious. With lots of diner style booths, natural light streaming through the glass ceiling and chic Parisian style cafe music humming in the backround, the general ambience is of laid back chic.

As this was an early Friday evening, cocktails were the order of the day. We were excited to try the special Wimbledon cocktail - a light, cleansing cocktail based around lime and cucumber - created by the Picasso team to celebrate the annual tennis event. Decorated with a twist of lime peel which reminded me of the tracks around a tennis ball, the flavours countered each other really well and I wasn't disappointed.

Sarah plumped for the Herbalist, which was zingy, sweet and refreshing all at once. The bitter Tanqueray gin was offset perfectly by the cucumber.

Ann also really enjoyed her Romeo's First cocktail; apparently is the drink of the moment amongst Picasso customers. Based around passion fruit, the mixologist managed to avoid its sweet taste overwhelming the other flavours. The end product was rather aromatic and elegant and not in the least sickly.

Accompanying our drinks was a perfect mini mezze plate of olives, feta and sundried tomatoes - the perfect way to start the evening!

Unfortunately we couldn't stay to sample the full menu, but true carnivores amongst you would be pleased to hear that it's based around steaks and hamburgers which, if the Black & Blue reputation is anything to go by, are bound to be mouth-watering.

Picasso
127 Kings Road,
London
SW3 4PW

Motoring Ahead on the Kings Road

Mare Moto is fast becoming a staple in my SW6 routine. I have grown such a fondness for this Italian establishment and recommend it left, right and centre to anyone that will listen. What is so very special about Mare Moto is that it has many faces-all of which work and cater brilliantly for the target market.

Firstly I feel it is necessary to point out that most of my peers and SW6 neighbours love the Friday nightclub, sugary cocktail, multicoloured dance floor characteristic of Mare Moto, something it does very well which we have already reviewed here. However, as well as providing a fun, safe and cool environment to let your hair down on a Saturday night Mare Moto has leaped ahead in the dining stakes.

Having sampled pretty much every local Italian in SW6 and every restaurant on that strip of New Kings Road I feel rather ashamed that I have overlooked Mare Moto when choosing a dinner location. I feel to begin with I have to gush about the exceptional service- we were looked after by Adriano Webb Carlucci, Executive Restaurant Manager, like we were his own. From New York, but also with Tuscan heritage, Adriano knows his stuff when it comes to the hospitality industry (he has served Clint Eastwood and Johnny Depp in LA!). Jess had only just finished telling Adriano that she was about to embark on a two week Italian holiday and before she knew it an extensive Italian wine list with full descriptions of every grape was upon her. Adriano personally recommended something very special, a Tuscan Vernaccia from San Gimignano, a vineyard that he had personally visited.....swoon.

This personalised service was not just for us, we watched as every other customer (the restaurant was full of regulars) were treated like VIP’s and all seemed to be on first name terms with the waiting team, very impressive. The restaurant not only benefits from its prime location but also from being unique in having the front facing outdoor terrace cutely decorated with vines and fairy lights. As dusk falls and the wine flows it is a very magical place to be in SW6.

After much admiring of the modern elegance of the restaurant and sussing out the other diners we turned our attentions to the sophisticated menu. To start we shared the ‘Rotelle di vegetali alla Parmigiana’ and ‘Calamari e Zucchini Fritti con salsa piccante’ and were very impressed when two plates groaning with Italian decadence arrived. For those who appreciate Italian food it really knocks the socks off its competition; fresh, mouth-wateringly good flavours and tastes left us feeling (with some creative imagination) that we could be in Tuscany.

The main courses were yet again huge bowls of steaming freshly cooked Italian pasta; Pappardelle with mushrooms and steak for Jess and Spaghetti Vongole for me. Mine had the perfect quantity of chilli giving it an exciting kick but not overpowering the taste of the clams. Jess said her beef was cooked to perfection and accompanied the fungi perfectly. It was at this point that Jess started to get very excited at the prospect of living on this food for two weeks but also panic at how she would burn it all off! Anyway that didn’t matter, when in Rome we decided to share a dessert and opted for Adriano’s recommendation of the Banoffee Pie. Again like everything that Adriano had recommended we were not disappointed, it was as delicious as everything else had been and as we fought over the last spoonful it dawned on us that we were Mare Moto converts for life.

Mare Moto prides itself on offering an authentic Italian dining experience which also retains the level of service and attention to detail of a top London restaurant. It is extremely reasonably priced; our starters were £5.50 each which is the same as Pizza express! Yet again with every market that they cater for Mare Moto gets it spot on and it’s no doubt that we will be back there again and again- but maybe not straight after Jess’s visit to Italy as I have a feeling after two weeks she may be sick to death of pasta!

http://www.maremoto.co.uk

The Hand and Chelsea Flowers

Surprise surprise our favourite UK April showers arrived later than desired and a ‘summers’ May Thursday evening turned into a sprint for the 22 bus whilst being pelted with hailstones. This was equally timely as one of our most prestigious local events, The Chelsea Flower show, was in full bloom, proving destructive for my hair, the traffic and the poor flowers.

However a rescue remedy was in the 22’s sight and the aptly named Hand and Flower pub immediately offered a basket of warm bread, a comforting wine list and a beautiful waitress named Francesca. I had promised my father- somewhat of a ‘gastropub’ connoisseur living in leafy Surrey- a delicious local dinner that was worth the 80 minute crawl up the A3 from Reigate.

We were immediately seated with ease next to the open plan kitchen where we could spy Head Chef Adam England searing his steaks and pieces of cod- he looked relaxed and within moments so were we. The Hand and Flower is reminiscent of a Victorian Summer house but also has qualities of a Pall Mall gentleman's club  with red velvet curtains, plush maroon cushions and oversized retro lampshades. Contrasting with this opulent decor is a stunning glass ceiling that allows the evening light (May hailstones in our case) to shine into the restaurant enhancing the stylish Kings Road 'strip' and red suede loafers atmosphere.

Adam did us very proud. I went for the full girlie ‘Chelsea Flower Show’ straw hat option and decided on the ‘ceviche of scallops with lime & cucumber’ followed by the ‘baked sea bass with basil oil’. My father, the veteran of many a Greek summer in a certain local taverna in Corfu, unsurprisingly chose the char grilled halloumi to start and then opted for a manly pork chop which he thought could have had more sauce.

We found all the dishes extremely impressive and were instantly relaxed into the swing of the dressed down city boy culture that was emerging around us. You cannot deny that the food is of an extremely high quality here. Head chef Adam favours trendy establishments such as The Gun in Greenwich during his time off and obviously has a real passion for good quality yet sexy and contemporary versions of traditional dishes. He likes “the simple things, done well”- a quality I cannot dispute he excels in.

The prices at the Hand and Flower are very reasonable compared to some of its SW6 neighbours. The wine was perfectly chilled and delightfully fruity, Francesca our waitress was fabulous and we both left grinning from ear to ear. That was before my Dad realized he had to battle with the A3 and A217 whilst I curled up half a mile down the road in SW6, however I do not doubt that he and I will be back.

http://www.handandflowersw6.co.uk/