Rocca di Papa

Jo and I ended up in Rocca di Papa for a spot of late dinner last night. Having found that Bumpkin was full, we stumbled across this little Italian on the way to South Ken tube station.

And a pleasant surprise it was. Run and staffed with Italians it's décor provokes thoughts of Tuscany which provided a lovely atmosphere. It was bustling with chat and full of strong Italian aromas. Every time food was delivered to a table near ours I just had to turn and follow the smell...

Granaio
mixed breads served with fruity olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar
Formaggio
a plate of Italian cheeses

Good breads and cheeses to start. I've never had cheese as a first course, but I think I would. There wasn't a description of what the four cheeses were and two of them were good enough to stand up on their own. The other two were helped on their way with some quince jam.

***
Caprina
chicken with goats cheese, mixed peppers, caramelised onions and pesto dressing
Fiorentina
free-range egg, garlic, spinach and mozzarella

We both had pizzas and they were pretty good. Plenty of toppings and very tasty, crisp, bases. Although I must stick to my guns in future. Chicken really isn't a suitable pizza topping. The texture is just all wrong.

Rocca di Papa is serves good quality "standard" fare you'd expect from an Italian restaurant with a lovely atmosphere at very reasonable prices. There's no reason not to go back.