The Scene: Dinner for 2 on a Saurday night
Delight: Attentive service & good cocktails
Disappointment: Chef's choice dish and a keen shake of the salt shaker
The night as I remember:
Started with a stroll down to Balham High Road in search of some local Italian. A quick look at the menu outside Locale and an inviting dining space was enough to convince us it was worth a try. The service (we had 2 waiters!) was fantastic, a rare find in London.
We ordered the focaccia bread to start, which came out right as my glass of wine and his cocktail arrived. This should have been the beginning of a spectacular meal.
As I sipped through my glass of Sangiovese, our mains arrived. Mine the Chef's choice Ravioli dish (stuffed with sun dried tomatoes and mozzarella with a tomato and basil sauce). His, a chicken and roast potatos dish.
I suppose it may have been overly ambitious of me to think that my ravioli would be bursting with flavor. The tomato sause completely overpowered any taste the ravioli might have had - but it may have not had any taste anyway because there was barely any meat (read: sun dried tomato/mozzarella) in these ravilois.
His was a very nice sized portion of chicken and roast potatos. He thought the chicken was mearly heavily salted to give it flavor, rather than any real cooking ability being employed on it to make it savory.
We didn't chance it on dessert.
The service was fantastic but the lack of flavor in the food makes this a one hit wonder. Good cocktails are a selling point, but I can get those cheaper at a bar. Possibly there are other items on the menu that would have given my tatebuds a run for their money, but I've got too many other places I want to try out.