CombatCritic's TravelValue™: Kennington

Showing posts with label Kennington. Show all posts

Friday, December 7, 2018

London, England: I Was, Nearly, Over The Moon For La Luna

La Luna
380 Walworth Road
London SE17 2NG
United Kingdom
Italian, Pizza
Phone number +44 20 7277 1991
Website: lalunapizzeria.com
Prices: ££££

Pretty good Italian food at a reasonable price, the place was quiet on a Thursday night after our first day in London and a miserable trip (two cancelled flights, lost luggage, and no sleep for 36+ hours). It is a simple place with a nice ambiance and the aroma of garlic in the air as we entered.

Many of the staff are Italians, a good thing at an Italian restaurant, with the chef hailing from bella Napoli. The pizza oven looks authentic, but it appeared out of use until the pizzaiuolo (pizza maker) put our garlic bread inside to bake. Turns out it is gas fired.

We started with a Caprese Salad - "fresh (buffalo) mozzarella cheese, tomato, basil, and olive oil" (£6.90) - as well as an order of garlic bread (£3) as previously mentioned. The mozzarella was neither fresh nor Mozzarella di Bufala as far as I could tell and there were just four large, halved cherry tomatoes surrounding the ball of cheese which was topped with one lonely basil leaf. There was a "skin" on the outside of the mozzarella and it did not ooze liquid, indicating that it wIt was not the worst Caprese I have had, but it was far from the best. The garlic bread was actually pizza dough topped with olive oil and salt, then baked in the gas oven. It was tasty and a decent value. I also had a half bottle of house red wine (£6.90), a Merlot which was smooth, light, and tasty.

I saw that they had a Salsiccia e Friarielli (sausage and broccoli rabe sautéed in olive oil) Pizza (£9.90) on the menu, so I asked if they could make me a pasta dish with sausage and friarielli as well, a request to which they readily agreed. Bravo! The pasta was quite tasty and well prepared, indicating that the Neapolitan chef knew what he was doing. They charged me the same for the pasta as they do for the pizza (£9.90).

My wife's Spaghetti Carbonara (£8.50) was made with cream, pancetta, and egg and she enjoyed it very much even though it was "a bit too salty". It was a decent portion and a very good value for the price, but authentic it was not as you would never find cream as an ingredient in a carbonara in Italy.

I would have given them an extra "BOMB" had the Caprese salad been better and more fresh and the carbonara prepared more traditionally. As they say in bella Napoli ... così così (so-so).

CombatCritic Gives La Luna 6 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Six Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Good To Go"

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Kennington, London, England: I May Be Olde, But I'm Not Lion ... This Place Sucks!

The Old Red Lion

42 Kennington Park Road

London SE11 4RS

United Kingdom

Tube: Kennington

Phone number +44 20 7735 4312

Website: theoldredlion.com

Prices: ££££

We were so rudely shooed away from an empty table by the bartender upon entry that I was about to leave. Unfortunately, I did not listen to my gut instinct and we stayed, very sorry that we did after the horrendous experience that ensued.

The other "available" tables were littered with spilt beer, empty glasses, and dirty plates, so we picked the least disgusting one, ordering an ale, a shandy, one Steak and Volden Ale Pie (£12 - $15.50) and one Ale Battered Haddock (£12 - $15.50). Arriving in due course, the steak and ale pie appeared decent, but my haddock looked atrocious - greasy, soggy, and burnt - so I returned it to the bartender, telling him that it was inedible. He offered to replace it, although I think he lied when he told me that there were no more steak and ale pies, so, being short on time, I ordered a simple Burger and Fries (£10.50 - $13.50) and told him to "keep the difference".

The Offensive Bartender

One Bite Was More Than Enough

Having missed two of our flights to London through no fault of our own, our luggage had been lost, forcing us to wear the same clothes for 4+ days straight. We had to be back at our Airbnb flat NLT 6PM to accept delivery of our finally found bags, having an early morning departure for Paris the next day. I waited and waited for the burger to arrive, but as it was going on 5:45PM and it was still nowhere in sight, I asked him if we could take it "to go". Frenchy refused to box the still nonexistent meal for me, so we had no choice but to leave, having paid nearly $16 for a meal I never ate. What a wanker!

Lucy

The sole highlight of the event (I cannot say "meal" because I did not eat) was a three-legged delight by the name of Lucy, a small black terrier that lost a leg to a Husky as a puppy. She was as sweet as she could be and the staff would be well served by taking some lessons from her.

CombatCritic Gives The Old Red Lion 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On My "WALL OF SHAME" ... More Bombs Are Better!