Portobello Garden Caffè (Notting Hill)

• A virtuous session in the gym on a Sunday morning is generally followed by an 'unvirtuous' pig out at some splendid eaterie and three of us
• Buzzing place whose walls were awash with Italian goodies
• They looked absolutely beautiful and so it was without hesitation that we ordered the antipasto misto which was delivered promptly and with a basket of bread
• Soft texture were a complete delight
• Strips of peppers were draped on a ball of milky mozzarella and the sun dried tomatoes
• Fake tasting nougats of ghastliness were gentle on the tongue and deliciously sweet
• The lasagna arrived in its shiny sauciness and was as light as a feather just the right amount of pasta was cloaked in ricotta and a rich tomato sauce with shavings of Parmesan on top
• Mozzarella and tomato on toasted bread was greeted with equal praise it was so generous in size that we had to ask for a doggy bag
• If I had a little gripe it would be that the wine list was pitifully small and £
• 19 for an indifferent Pinot Grigot is somewhat galling
• When we were going to leave as people were queueing to get in
• I had no intention of sitting down to eat but I was compelled to go in and investigate
• Presented them with an option of four restaurants (secretly hoping that democracy would work in my favour)
• Take up was slow as the more adventurous sounding alternatives were far more popular
• Such questions were running through my mind
• Instead there were a couple of al forno dishes (baked in the oven)
• Considerably portioned gnocchi with bolognese sauce for £
• Served whilst the tomato sauce was still bubbling from the oven
• They should consider investing in a second credit card machine to take two payments simultaneously since this was a bit slow
• The menu a bit unexpected but my wildcard panini pick was good (huge so perhaps share) and the ingredients were of a good quality
• The good news is you might not have to wait that long
• This is a restaurant that would attract far larger crowds and queues if it was any bigger
• It might well be one of Portobello Road's best kept secrets
• Found the place decorated with panettone and pandoro boxes everywhere
• Resisting temptation is not an option in there
• Where most ingredients for cold dishes are on display
• Mozzarella and aubergine sandwich made with pizza bread (boy did that sound promising)
• The ravioli came with plenty of rich
• You can hardly go wrong with slathering pasta with sauce
• As the filling is the best part of a ravioli recipe to me
• One of my colleagues ordered potato gnocchi with beef ragù
• He was impressed with the gnocchi
• Not so much with the seasoning
• He claimed was missing a kick
• My enthusiasm about warm bread was quick to fade
• As I realised it was garlic bread
• Garlic bread is not a thing
• Authentic making it feel you are inside a southern italian market

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