Al Boccon di Vino (Richmond Upon Thames)

• One of the best food experiences in town
• The Chef figures out what is fresh in the market and what he would like to put together for the day and then the whole family/ staff plot together to stuff you silly
• Cosy dining room with eight close packed tables
• What is not apparent when you book is that the no choice meal meal is lengthy
• Then there was a long gap
• When you sit down you are asked whether you want red or white
• By default you will end up with the £
• If you glance up at the walls there are plenty of good wines on display
• Short of getting up and leaning over other diners there was no way to actually see what was really on offer
• This is a shame since the mark ups were probably quite fair
• Especially given in this case that their house red that they were so anxious to push was pretty grim (I tasted it)
• The food that appeared was very basic
• A fried potato was quite enjoyable (12/20)
• A strip of sea bass had no obvious flavour though it was cooked through properly
• (his words) that were in fact a pair of overcooked scallops
• Prawns in tomato sauce were slightly overcooked (10/20)
• Pasta in two different forms was slightly soggy in texture in both cases
• Ravioli with beer and Emmenthal cheese was rather too soft but edible (11/20)
• Whereas pasta parcels with tomato and Mozzarela were just mushy (10/20)
• The main course was lamb served with boiled potatoes
• The lamb cooked rather too long but with crisp skin
• Strawberries (in January) were unsurprisingly tasteless and paired with utterly dry
• The overall impression was of a wildly elongated dinner party
• A long meal with an unknown number of courses may have a certain mystery
• If the food is not very good and the gaps between courses are too long then the concept falls apart
• The cooking as such was mostly competent
• In that things were generally cooked properly rather than being raw or burnt
• The restaurant was full this evening
• Seemingly is very popular with the locals
• Actually it is not that cheap
• Especially if the food is less than inspiring
• This restaurant is somewhere that I tried quite hard to like
• Completely unaware just what we were about to get ourselves into
• Upon arrival we found a small restaurant with an eclectic collection of decorations
• Turns out there is no menu at Al Boccon di'Vino
• As the choice is brought down to "
• The food selection is chosen for you
• Being presented with a rather limited wine selection
• I love Italian cuisine and there was a place in Richmond I was quite keen to visit
• Basically they come with the pan in hand and serve your food into your plate
• Vino (a mouthful of wine) is a simply marvellous dining experience
• I was thankful for dining with a native Italian as it was truly transporting and I could imagine being tucked away in a little Italian village somewhere in the countryside

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