Cosy Italian Food

Hello my lovely readers! I hope you are well this fine Sunday evening and are getting ready for another work week (albeit this one is definitely shorter! And I am all ready for that!) It’s been such a long week for me and I just want to go to my bed and probably sleep for a week… In between work commitments, this blog and viewings for flats all over London, I can say that I want this search to be over NOW! And if the first two are manageable, the viewings are such a pain! By now I’ve seen so many flats, some good ones, some bad ones, some modern, other recently renovated; the fact is I had forgotten how tiring flat search would be!

By now, I just want to say “Let’s make an offer and be done with it!” and I think that I am at my limit! I believe that this is never going to end! Not only that, but I think that I have disregarded you all and my blog a bit too much and I haven’t done any proper research in a while. I hope that changes soon though! I dearly hope that in two weeks’ time, all this will have died down and I will be able to re-focus on this blog again.

All this search had a good thing also, which is that we went to a beautiful and cosy Italian restaurant to eat dinner that was very close to Finchley Central Station, called The House. Not very imaginative as someone mean would say, but let me tell you that the food there is heavenly! We stopped there for a quick bite after a viewing, but ended up staying for over 1.30 hours there. The atmosphere is inviting and warm, with wood and some happy posters hanging on the wall and our server was simply fab. I was very impressed by the wooden crates covering the top of the one wall that instantly transport you to a traditional tavern in Greece and Italy that will make you feel so relaxed (and full!) afterwards.

We were a bit hungry, so we thought we could order a couple of starters, apart from our mains. So, we decided on the deep fried calamari and the House bruschetta. Both of them were expertly prepared and presented nicely. Huge points for that! Especially for the bruschetta, it was beautifully looking on a wooden platter. The deep fried calamari was not left behind, as the tartar sauce that came with it was simply delicious! In fact, I haven’t tasted a better tartar sauce in ages! It was spicy, but you could also detect the lemons used, light and fresh, simply ideal with our fried calamari. Looking backwards now, I believe that we couldn’t have made a better choice regarding our appetisers, but this doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t want to try the chorizo bruschetta or one of their salads, like their Mediterranean or the prawn and avocado one.

After the bruschetta and the calamari, it was literally time for the main course! I had the ravioli – a vegetarian dish – while my boyfriend had the smoked salmon pasta. From a first glance, the portions were huge! Okay the plate itself was big, but at the end of it, we left satisfyingly full! Then, it was the parmesan cheese grated on top of our dishes, and I was served first, because obviously ladies come first! Or, like my boyfriend put it, “if not, she will be terribly hungry and grumpy!” But to go back to the food, my ravioli was mouth-wateringly delicious! The tomato sauce was wholesome and my ravioli with spinach and ricotta cheese were simply fantastic. My boyfriend’s dish was creamier than mine, but that didn’t detract from tasting the salmon. And the lemon in the sauce complimented the smoked salmon perfectly in my opinion.

If you want me to describe The House restaurant in a phrase, it would be comfort food at its best, at an incredible location! Sometimes you just want to eat something without frills and that uncomfortable dinner etiquette, and I’d say this is a place you should consider. It may not be the most Instagrammable restaurant in London, or the poshest, but it is authentic and relaxing in its atmosphere. You can really unwind there after a long day at work, you can enjoy a drink with some nibbles and go straight home afterwards. I really envy the people living close by, as this is a perfectly good choice for a weekday meal. And for the price we had to pay (£34.00 for the two of us with two starters and two mains), it is a good value-for-money option. Next time I’d like to try the risotto and even the Mediterranean or the Greek salads and maybe have a glass of their whites (or prosecco, hihi!).

Till next time,

Sofia-Maria