Manicomio
Duke of York Square
Chelsea
020 7730 3366

Sloane Square

One of a chain of four restaurants in the area, La Porchetta - previously called Mille Pini - is an old-fashioned little pizzeria. The owner has tried to enliven the rather gloomy interior, which has space for about 30 diners (more seating is apparently available downstairs) and features dull yellow or brick walls and a terracotta tile floor, with some works of art and figurines of pigs (a porcine variant of La Strega below, though I don't think there's a connection between the two). Although the polished granite table tops are smart, the faded blue leatherette banquette cushions have seen better days. The menu is a basic one offering a standard range of pizza and pasta dishes. Our selections included garlic bread - a large pizza base topped with a tomato and garlic sauce fresh from the oven (£3.50), pizzas topped with mushroon (£5.60), margherita (£5.10), penne alla siciliana with tomato, garlic, aubergines, onions and chillies (£7.10), rigatoni regina with cream, ham and mushrooms (£6.30), and mixed green salad w mayonnaise dressing (£2.30). I chose spaghetti bolognese (£6.10). We also ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio (£13.50) and bottled spring water to drink. The bread and pizzas were tasty but unremarkable. However, my bolognese was excellent - the sauce meaty, tangy, thick and plentiful and the pasta not overcooked. Website

Set in a traditional Victorian hotel Allegro con Brio, under normal circumstances, presumably looks and feels like a 'proper' restaurant, which is what we'd assumed when we booked in advance. The fact that it was actually closed for refurbishment wasn't imparted to us until we arrived, where the receptionist said we could still eat in carvery. We wandered with trepidation through empty corridors to a vast, galleried and almost deserted dining hall, and weren't exactly overjoyed to find a carvery offering the 'best of English cooking' with 'an Italian twist'. The room itself is impressive enough - large and bright with vast columns and an enormous central chandelier suspended from a high, ornate ceiling. The magnificent setting was somwhat spoiled by a fusty atmosphere with kitchen wafts to the fore and carvery serving stations adding an incongruous note. Carvery wasn't what we had in mind for our guests, who had arrived from Northern Ireland but, after remonstrating with the manager, we were assured that we could order from the Allegro con Brio menu - and get an agreeable discount for not being fully informed of the situation when we booked. From the primi piatti starters I ordered fresh spaghetti with prawns and mange tout (£12.50). The spaghetti was well cooked and drenched in a bisque-y jus, while the four large prawns were rather over firm, but bursting with flavour. Others chose duo of fresh and smoked salmon cake with cucumber and limoncello cream sauce (£12.50), tuna carpaccio topped with a polenta crust and a sweet bell pepper sauce (£12.50) and passatelli pasta in a broth with strips of John Dory (£8.50) and, from the anitipasti selection, fresh sea scallops with basil pesto, potatoes and green beans (£12.80) and chicken and maltagliatti pasta with octopus, anchovies and cherry tomatoes (£11.50). My main course of pan seared fillet of beef coated with a crust of aromatic herbs (£24.50) came with cubes of roasted potato, a sprinkling of lightly cooked veg and a dark delicious sauce. The beef was done to medium rare perfection and the sauce was sweet and sensual on the palate. The others ordered supreme of guinea fowl with seared goose liver, fresh pears and a truffle flavoured sauce (£18.50) and marinated braised loin of lamb with sauteed red onions and apple (£21.50). One of us chose from the carvery (three courses £22.50). To drink we had a couple of bottles each of Myall Road semillion chardonnay (£16.50 per bottle) and Barbera Monella Frizante (£26 per bottle). After the initial misunderstanding, service was slick and fast and, considering that the kitchen was focused on working to the carvery menu, the quality of the food was impressive. Despite the high prices I'd like to return to sample the menu again in its proper setting.

Dinner
£25 ($45)

The name isn't the only thing novel about this Italian restaurant, which I'd visited several years ago when it traded under a different name. Not only has the decor been modernised and tidied up, with big water themed paintings, funky decor with broad swathes of strong, bright colours and frosted glass - which seems to underline that this was definitely a different kind of place, but the quality of cooking also appears to have been dragged out of the ordinary. On both occasions, I was one of the tail enders joining a group of Italian friends for a large, noisy celebration of something or other. Once everyone got settled the wine and food flowed. I ordered beef carpaccio (£5.90) to start, and followed with the monkfish special (£11.50). Both were competently made and served, and tasted delicious with copious glasses of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo red. Others had pizza, which has won praise, and pasta dishes. It was quite early when we arrived and our noise threatened to overwhelm the smallish dining room, though later on this filled up quickly. Dining is extended to the front of the restaurant in summer months, though it's closed on Tuesdays.

Like a relic from the '70s, La Strega makes no concession to modernity in either decor or menu, but it provides a quiet intimate atmosphere that makes it popular particularly with the more mature locals. The decor was simple, though we were mystified by the little witches on broomsticks hanging from the corners of the ceiling. Shortly after we sat down several couples, all of whom seemed to know the stout, grey haired waiters, drifted in and the previously almost empty dining room soom buzzed with conversation. I started with whitebait with tartar sauce, while my companions had calamari rings with tartar and garlic bread. For main course they had chicken breast with mushroom sauce, chicken escallop with tomato sauce and spaghetti carbonara, while I went for lamb steak with fries. This was served with fresh, lightly boiled carrots, broccoli and green beans. To drink we ordered a bottle of white wine. We finished on tiramisu, ice cream and pannacotta. I chose the dolcelatte cheese, served with celery and savoury biscuits. The food was all simply presented and unpretentious, and delicious. Service was friendly and efficient Website.