We visit the latest addition to the foody heaven that is King Street
Primavera is the latest addition to the foody heaven that is King Street. But it is different from the vast majority of King Street eateries because, as you might guess from its name, it is Italian rather than Indian or Oriental.
Primavera describes itself as a ‘family run restaurant’. That sums it up nicely. Giovanni d’Orsimanages the restaurant upstairs while his wife does the cooking downstairs and his two (grown-up) children help out where needed.
Cosy is the word that comes to mind when you enter the restaurant, but it’s not cramped because they’ve made very good use of a small space.
The food is regional northern Italian with a choice of pasta, pizza and risotto and a good range of meat and fish dishes, with daily specials and plenty for vegetarians to choose from.
Let’s start this time with the booze. The wine list is comprehensive and, as you’d expect, largely Italian with prices from about £12 so there is something to suit all pockets. We chose a bottle for £14 which was excellent value for money. Sometimes, when you pick a wine at the cheaper end of the wine list you end up with something you’d rather not drink but, full marks to Primavera, that was definitely not the case here.
Giovanni takes a personal interest in the customers, which makes for charming atmosphere. He seems to have all the time in the world for each diner and will readily tell you about the specials and chat about how you like your food - his supporting waiter was also friendly and attentive.
So to the food. After we’d ordered the wine we were given a basket of mixed bread which came with scrumptious olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.
To start I had that great Italian stand-by insalata tricolore – mozzarella cheese, avocado and tomato. It might not have been exciting but it was good and there was lots of it. My partner had risotto which wasn’t on the menu as a starter but the kitchen didn’t mind serving up a starter size dish, and when it arrived it was stunning. The colour of sunshine and redolent of saffron. I’m not a great risotto fan but even I could see this was something special.
To follow I had gnocchi, those little balls of concentrated carbohydrate that must have Dr. Atkins spinning in his grave, all smothered in a gorgonzola sauce which would have those other gastronomic killjoys, the fat police, going into apoplectic overdrive. Still who cares, it was lovely although my eyes were bigger than my stomach and I couldn’t finish it so Giovanni packaged up what was left and I took it home home to fatten myself up even more.
My partner had that other great Italian classic: liver and onions, which came with a great mound of mashed potato. He loved it and declared it the best liver and onions he’s had since they closed his favourite Italian café in The Cut near Waterloo Road. As that was 30 years ago, it was praise of the highest order!
There was no room for puddings I’m afraid but Giovanni kindly gave us liqueurs. I don’t know what they were called but mine was one of those herby drinks that the Italians do so well and partner’s was a hazelnut concoction, a bit like Amaretto but not so marzipanny and not as sweet.
The bill, which included side dishes of rocket salad and spinach came to £62.
I used to have friends who lived in Bessozo, a village north of Milan, and their favourite restaurant was similar to this. It was a small, family run place with a compact menu and good, home cooked food. It was also warm and smelled of garlic and tomato and olive oil. Of course, there the special dishes would have depended on what was available at the market that morning which isn’t quite what happens here but Giovanni assured us that many of his ingredients are shipped over from Italy a couple of times a week.
So to sum up, we liked the place: the atmosphere’s good, the food’s good and the prices are not outrageous. The style is old fashioned but not stuck in a time-warp. The one thing I’m sorry about is that I don’t live near enough for it to become one of my locals. But I’m not going to report that it was all perfect. There were a few niggles. For example there appeared to be nowhere to hang our coats. Not a big problem on a mild dry evening but a real pain on a cold wet night if you have to dump your wet outer wear on the chair next to you. And the other thing that struck a bum note was the television, which was switched on. Although the sound was off it was still out of place.
Still these are small niggles which can be easily remedied. If they dim the lights and kill the television it will be a shoe-in for a romantic Valentine’s dinner
Penny Flood
December 23, 2006
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