Strada

One delightful Sunday evening Nibs and I wondered along South Bank looking to grab a bite to eat before we watched a film at the BFI. There's a vast array of options but I am always somewhat disappointed by the eateries on South Bank. I once had a decidedly average meal at Canteen, I'm not a fan of Ping Pong, Wagamama is boring and I associate Giraffe and Eat with lunches rather than dinner.

We ended up at Strada where I've eaten before and not been hugely offended. Stupidly we did not have a 2-for-1 voucher, always annoying when you remember these kinds of things mid meal. We were also a little strapped for time, having pre booked tickets to see Far From Heaven (a birthday present from Nibs.)

Nibs had the parma pizza. This looked and smelled brilliant, on my last visit, probably about a year ago I had a pizza and was very pleased with it. Pizza is something I am very keen to eat more of in London, I'm yet to try Franco Manca mainly out of laziness and the fact they're closed at weekends but I'm pretty sure Strada would not feature highly on anyone's top London pizzerias. The good thing about them here is that they are large. This beat Nibs.


I had the Tegamaccio, Puglia Fish Stew which promised mussels, clams, squid, prawns and red mullet in a wine and herb tomato sauce. I was disappointed with the measly portion of fish and the quality of what there was. There was 1 large prawn at the centre of the dish, this was the highlight. The sauce was very winey, quite good actually, the accompanying ciabatta tasted burnt and was soggy, might have been nice served on a side plate. I also got a side salad of rocket and Parmesan. This poor unfortunate bowl of leaves was put at the pass under the lamps and had to wait for the mains to be ready, it duly wilted and was a shadow of its former self by the time it made its way to the table. The stew was tepid, not sure if this was intended or not.

The thing I like at Strada is the bread they do in baskets, a pizza base with toppings of cheese or pesto. I wasn't hungry enough to have this. I felt the stew was a rip off at £15. Don't know why but I seem to be ordering a lot of stews lately, silly perhaps considering it's summer.

So, I'm remain at somewhat of a loss as to where is best to eat on South Bank, perhaps it's worth venturing further afield? I'm still keen to try out the Anchor and Hope.

Strada
South Bank
SE1
5/10