Piccola Cucina (Notting Hill)

• It's such a diverse part of London which strangely most people only associate with either its Portobello Road Market
• Apart from street food and cheap nasty take outs it's never really been known for its food the only people who seem to know about places worth going are its locals
• Business in this part of town thrives on local spending one reason for that is the area doesn't have enough 'destination restaurants' ie
• Destination restaurants are opening up in force
• Restaurants such as Chakra Indian is tantalising food bloggers with its modern take on Indian cuisine
• John Burton Race has come bouncing back with a strong contender at his new
• A new modern European tapas restaurant is always packed
• Piccola Cucina opened last week and is serving up some astonishingly fresh seafood at its new authentic Sicilian restaurant on the large stretch that is
• The only menu I've seen was in Italian which hopefully gets translated to English
• We started on our way through this Sicilian feast with a stunning tuna tartar with avocado puree
• The tuna was some of the freshest I've eaten and was incredibly soft to the bite
• What you have to rember coming here to Piccola Cucina is it isn't really designed for carnivores or vegetarians it's for lovers of all those tasty creatures of the sea
• Sea bass tartar was next up and it was equally as stunning
• The fish was bursting with such a purity you'd have expected it to still be flapping around on the plate
• Seasoning and presentation was very well balanced and refined
• Other dishes such as this langoustine carpaccio were a strange affair but one which I couldn't help but falling in love with
• I've not eating langoustine served this way before so it was a real treat for me
• The thinly sliced flesh was a little sticky to the touch
• Why every restaurant across London isn't serving langoustine this way is beyond me they're missing a very clever trick
• In case you're wondering the langoustine head on the plate was for nothing more than decoration
• Octopus tentacles served with fresh herbs
• A copious but well balanced amount of seasoning and a lovely deep grilled smokiness this was easily the best octopus I have ever eaten
• Well no tricks were played here it was all down to the utter freshness of that octopus
• The dish tasted of Italy and it also showed exactly what Italy is capable of with a little care and good sourcing
• First was this huge plate of linguine pasta coupled with sweet morsels of fresh blue lobster
• The linguine pasta was cooked perfectly and describing it as being al dente would be an understatement
• From Italy of course was coated in a vibrantly coloured pistachio crumb also from Italy
• Grilled delicately on the outside and very rare on the inside it really is the only way to cook tuna if you want to get a real taste of such an incredible fish
• Served with a side of fried purple potato it was a perfect way finish up before we delved into desserts
• An Italian feast is never nearly over until tiramisu is served
• Served in a jar this version was very much as expected
• Sometimes looks can be deceiving and this was one of those occurrences
• A devilishly moist and rich chocolate cake literally fell apart to the touch and was as light as a feather in the mouth
• Our epic Italian feast quickly came to an end and with it came this panna cotta topped with a red fruit coulis
• I never like to refer to anything as the best (although I've reffered to it numerous times in this review already)
• This was the best panna cotta I've ever eaten in England hands down
• Piccola Cucina is certainly a new gem in London
• The owner here is only 21 and has a real passion for food
• Was recommended to me by an Italian friend who said that this is one of the best Italian places in London

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