Pappa & Prosecco

A good local Italian is imperative in these parts. Whether it's a summers eve and you want to while away an evening with friends and plenty of prosecco, or a cold Sunday evening in the depths of winter and only chili linguine will do. I came across a new find last week, and lucky for me it's very local and was a balmy summers eve, with plenty of the aforementioned prosecco. 

Pappas Ciccia, Munster Road is brilliant for many reasons, it's lively and rambunctious like a good local Italian should be, the food is lady and the tramp lovely and it's BYOB! Italian through and through, the service is informal and on the slippery border between amusing and over-familiar. Every table was buzzing with locals slurping red wine and devouring cheesy slices of crisp pizza.

Pappas Ciccia is the type of place where you arrive sober and stressed and leave feeling tipsy and carefree. With another branch an even closer two minute walk from my flat I can see this is going to fast become a firm Friday night staple. 

We are lucky to have a few great Italians in SW6, here is a round up of the best:

Best for food - Gola
Best for lots of laughs and lemon cello -Il Pagglacio 
Best for a hot date - L'antico
Best for dancing - Mare Moto
Best for f**k the diet - Made in Italy

Barbarella is back!

Barbarella is where my mother had her hen party in 1986 and so it was with much amusement that I found myself sitting with three girlfriends in a booth last month enjoying their back to their 80's themed menu. An inspired idea by their PR team, the menu was 80's but, even better - so were the prices. £2.50 for a starter and £5.00 for a main course made for an extremely economical evening. It also made me think, god my mum's hen do must have been cheap compared to the going rate now!

All things 80's aside I loved how they had revamped the restaurant. It was very sexy with a slick of polished finishings and fabrics throughout, enhancing the private members club vibe. Booths offered plenty of privacy whilst the lighting remained on the flattering side of dim, meaning if you haven't visited since the 80's you needn't worry about the lines of time giving you away. We enjoyed peach Bellinis from the bar and were really impressed with the service, outdated it was not - our gorgeous Italian waitress was wonderfully attentive.

Live music from a talented singer slash sexy guitarist kept us entertained whilst we devoured our dinner as if we hadn't seen carbs since the 1980's. This place really comes into its own at the weekend with options to drink, dine, dance or do all three. It's a great Fulham local and one that I hope will be around for another 25 years, although I shudder to think what the prices will be by then!

Address: Barbarella, 428 Fulham Road, London, SW6 1DU, UK
Phone: 0207 920 6430

Pop Up Kings Road

Once upon a time, the Kings Road was known for being a hotbed of counter-culture; fertile ground for start ups, fresh thinkers and bright young creatives. For the last decade or so, I would argue, it has provided more of a stable environment to some local mainstays - places like Heals, Jack Wills, plenty of the Parisian fashion brands... even the feisty Ad Hoc has been around for a while.

So when I saw Pop Up Britain had moved in at the World's End, I was pretty excited: time for some fresh (super fresh) talent. Pop Up Kings Road is a concept store with a fantastic premise - every 2 weeks, for a whole year, 10 fresh new start ups move into the space and start trading. It's a great opportunity for new British talent to find a platform, get a leg up and make a name for themselves, and makes sure the shop is a real destination for a whole year, as you never know what you'll find there next.

When I visited this Saturday, the first batch of start ups had just taken residence, and I was really impressed with what I saw. The selection of brands was really well curated, each company complementing, rather than competing, with one another, and a really high standard of design and creativity. What's more, most of the brands were offering introductory discounts, so you can get your hands on future classics for fantastic prices

The highlight for me had to be Pinucci shoes, who had a selection of the world's coolest flats, and I couldn't resist their black leather, snakeskin and taupe suede Sloane sneakers, down from £150 to just £60. I also loved the selection of pretty trinkets, clothes and homewares from The Gorgeous Company, edgy shades from Couth and my boyfriend picked up a super cool slapband watch (90s children, remember snap bands?! Cool right?!) from Clicloc. Everything on offer was highly original, covetable and just a little bit different from most of what's on offer on the rest of the King's Road, breathing a fresher, younger lease of life into what is usually the slightly 'tired' end of the street.

A fresh batch of traders arrived in store today, and I'm sure I'll be checking in every few weeks throughout the whole year. I can't think of a better way to support talented young British entrepreneurs, and I love the fact that every time you visit, there will be new and exciting brands to shop. You'll see at least a few faces this year who make it big in 2014 and beyond, guaranteed.

Pop Up Kings Road
387 Kings Road
Chelsea, London
SW10 0LR
www.popupbritain.com

Pictures from Pop Up Britain and retailweek.