An Italian Restaurant

[Lloydhutchinson]

Hi all. A friend of mine who was once a catering manager at a top London hotel is thinking of opening an Italian restaurant in East Dulwich{He's Italian himself] .He's got some lovely ideas and is trying to put together a deal with the banks[not easy these days]. What's the deal? Are we up for it of what? I think he wants to be quite specific in the choice on the menu and also he wants it to be reasonable and not too large.

[Jeremy]

A couple of years ago it would have been a great idea.

Now there are three others.

[Luisa]

The more italian restaurants the better as far as I'm concerned. As long as it's good. And cheap.

[lozzyloz]

Perhaps an Italian on a different theme like a Pescatori might be more interesting before we get pizza and pasta overload.

[onceuponatime]

i think it's a great idea.. but there a nice italian by goose green- locale..tasty food...so it will be compared...as long as it's good food and decent prices, i think it will do great. best of luck!!

[ClareC]

Italian is my favourite :-) Three...... I know Locale, where are the other 2?

[woofmarkthedog]

As long as it's authentic , seasonal, & well priced it will work...........however bland generic tongue coating parodies & a three foot tall peppermill wont cut the doo daa here..

Even better if he puts a woodfired oven in and uses it properly...........then oh THEN.......he may create something special

Ah mamma mia.....taker me bac to d'old daize........

W**FIO

[plimsoul]

si mangia at peckham rye end of forest hill and the new one on melbourne grove (see rave reviews) are the other 2.

i think that they have missed the boat because just over a year ago it was a different story. sushi would be the direction to head in...

[Nero]

Yup, a GOOD Italian (like Camerino) would be great, and I second the idea of a wood burning stove.

If you do a search on here for Mon P'tit Chou, you will see a thread in which people advised the company that is going to re-do the cafe of that name. From the thread you'll see what kind of service, ethos, atmosphere people want (well, at least the people who have posted.)

N

[v_the_gelfling]

Probably the only one on here but, i really dislike Italian. Can be incredibly over priced, considering its mostly dough and pasta! As others have pointed out, there are already 3 Italian restaurants in the neighbourhood, do we really we need another? How about a good fish restaurant?

[Asset]

I've got a cookbook by the doyen of Italian cookery, Marcella Hazan, and I think she would be spinning in her grave at your comment "mostly dough and pasta"!!

Obviously pizza and pasta is the commercial side of Italian cookery but a restaurant serving real Italian cooking would be fab.

[woofmarkthedog]

Dislike........really ? real "cuchina rustica" real Italian food or is it Italian style food done badly you really dislike.Because that I do hate too. I can't think of a country that has such a massive & seasonal/regional variety. Their handling of fresh local ingredients, the respect for tradition & authenticity is admirable. If someone could do this in ED then it would be b****y marvelous, with a big emphasis on fish would be even better

Panzanella,Sicilian fish stew, char-grilled (over real charcoal)squid,Grilled red mullet,Langoustines..............

Seasonal game pheasant,grouse,partridge,pigeon,..............Verdura.....ahh it's all to much

*OO*

*have to lie down now.....*

[SimonM]

But none of them, as far as I know. do Osso Buchi or veal escalope....

[Mick Mac]

Asset Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I've got a cookbook by the doyen of Italian

> cookery, Marcella Hazan, and I think she would be

> spinning in her grave at your comment "mostly

> dough and pasta"!!

>

> Obviously pizza and pasta is the commercial side

> of Italian cookery but a restaurant serving real

> Italian cooking would be fab.

I second this Asset.

The best meal I ever had was Italian in the Intercontinental Hotel - had a great veal steak for main and various starters of mozarella, risotto etc. Very subtle combinations of tastes.

What we don't need is another mid level restarant - personally I have only been to Locale once and did not think it was very good. A quality Italian would make a killing.

[sportbilly]

Personally I think Dulwich is still short of good restaurants. Personally I do not mind paying for good food. So oftne people believe that good quality and cheap come hand in hand but more often than not this is very difficult. Locale I believe is by the less well known partner of Locanda Locatelli. He has or had a restaurant in Blackheath.

[woofmarkthedog]

I believe the same company or group own the restaurants/leases in DV. So no competition then.

[Mick Mac]

Yep Sportbilly = I used to live nr Blackheath and it had the same problem - too many "ok" restaurants and not enough really good ones. Its a real shame when another one opens/revamps and is no better. There is a real opportunity for a higher end restaurant to make good money.

[v_the_gelfling]

Well yes, Italian style food done badly may be nearer the mark and I haven't been to Italy since i was a child, so most of my experience of Italian cuisine would be based on meals over here. Where can I go in London to sample a more authentic take on things?

[Claire29]

Perhaps if there aren't enough high end restaurants in the area for people perhaps they should look in another area! I think there are more than enough restaurants to please most people and all budgets. If you want somewhere really high end I suggest you get a taxi into london.

[Asset]

who thinks good quality and cheap come hand in hand?!? In a fantasy maybe.

[Gimme]

What East Dulwich lacks is a GOOD Italian restaurant. Si Mangia has good food but is a dreadful place and out of the way from the main drag. Locale is a nice restaurant but the food is not very good for the price. Haven't been to the new place but got the impression it was only a pizza place.

We used to live in Balham and had the luxury of Double Espresso and Bucci on our door step. Both were run by Italians and in both you could get a very good plate of pasta for around ?8 and a bottle of cheap but tasty Italian wine for ?12. In both you could walk away having spend ?70 for 4 people and have really enjoyed a lovely dinner.

Having spent ?210 for a meal for 4 in Locale (with only one bottle of wine) and having been pretty dissatisfied (cold food, embarrassingly badly made tiramisu etc), I think that they don't deserve repeat custom. Si Mangia was unfortunate for us perhaps as we went the night they had a dreadful singer and were badly understaffed, leading to a pretty poor experience.

So the answer is (in my humble opinion) - if your friend wants to open a restaurant in Lordship Lane area serving excellent pizza, pasta and daily specials, and the food is authentic and good, and the pricing is under ?10 for a plate of pasta then they would be very popular and very welcome.

[Gimme]

Re post above - probably guilty of not reading reviews of the new place on Melbourne Grove :-)

It sounds the business.

Anyway, the more the merrier!!! Bucci and Double Espresso were 20 metres apart and both did very well in Balham...

[Marmora Man]

I used to travel widely in UK and overseas. My rule of thumb was that "if in doubt - go Italian". Italian restaurants around the word can be relied upon not to cock it up - occasionally great but never bad.

[Brendan]

Coincidentally I noticed a sign in the window of the old electronics shop at the Plough (the one that has moved across the road) this morning and it said something along the lines of ?Italian deli and tea room opening soon?.

[reetpetite]

Thats right it was mentioned on a previous thread " Plough Electrics"