Tiramisu - why not!

Quietly located on South Ealing Road, the Tiramisu Cafe sits on the corner of Sunnyside Road (also neighbour to one of our favourite eats - Butlers Thai). Just outside the main hustle and bustle of the Broadway, Tiramisu makes for a peaceful spot.

Inside it is much brighter than you might expect, its large windows and light decor make it feel light and airy. A good spot for some work during the week, or a weekend brunch - as we tested ourselves.

The highlight on the menu, and a first for me, was their 'savoury' porridge. Among other light traditional Italian dishes the porridge stood out and tasted as good as it did intriguing. Warm and full of mushrooms and chicken it reminded me of a yummy risotto or a soup.

The menu isn't very large but has a good range of hearty and homemade choices, and also includes some wonderful daily specials displayed on the black board that regularly changes.

Service here is friendly and non-intrusive, and like lots of local independent eats it is closed on Mondays.

The toilet is located at the back of the cafe outdoors, and doesn't have a baby changing station (at last check), but if you are looking for a new spot by yourself or with your family and friends we'd recommend giving it a go.

Summary score table /5
Food Deliciousness:	4
Drinks Tastiness:	4
Service Skills:	4
Atmospheric Vibes:	4
Recommendation Score for a Casual Eve:	N/A
Recommendation Score for Showing off Ealing:	2
Total average score:	3.6

Santa Maria la Pizzeriaaa 
 
A relaxed summers Sunday evening, and we had an old friend visiting from overseas. We hadn't been to Santa Maria for a while so it seemed like a good option for a relaxed night out and some yummy food to fill our tums.

The pizzeria is famous for it's long wait for tables, whilst you drink in the pub next door (not a bad alternative). However this was Sunday (a quieter night for most restaurants), so we only waited a few minutes for our table (sadly missing out on the beer ;o)

We sat on a table near the front of the restaurant feeling the heat from the pizza oven and ordered our Italian beverages (beer and limonata) to go with our food. The decor was fun (having been refurbished back in Feb this year)

"Santa Maria was just what we were looking for on a lazy Sunday evening. Local, casual, relaxing but with a great atmosphere and some truly fantastic pizzas. The Italian team running the show are great - what an Ealing gem." Luke - visiting Ealing 

We hadn't been here for a while, but noted that the prices are now competitive with L'Oro Di Napoli just down the road (where we have been more recently). This is probably due to the increase at L'Oro Di Napoli, given its bedding in since its quite recent opening.

We ordered a selection of pizzas, and they didn't disappoint. We all commented on the rich tomato sauce used - it was delicious. Alex had gone for the special (with no tomato) which was really juicy even without the sauce. There was a good helping of toppings, and the bases were indeed from a good wood-fired-oven pizza.

We didn't have deserts, and although I was slightly dissapointed that there was no peppermint tea on offer - I accepted its upholding of traditional Italian vibes. I also got to take home the third of my pizza (that wouldn't fit in my tum) for lunch the next day - so was happy enough :o)

As you are told on the website, Santa Maria is listed in Time Out's 2012 Guide, and the restaurant has continued its standards as it was voted in the Evening Standard's top ten pizzas to try before you die. We would agree on the tasty pizzas - but although the service was friendly, we did feel a bit rushed. There were a few people waiting outside at odd points, but a smooth flow that kept the restaurant full all evening. We certainly got the sense that quick turnover was on order.

Despite the runs, all in all, this place still stays top for us in Ealing and we had a fun night. It gets itself a STAR EAT!

Summary score table /5
Food Deliciousness:	5
Drinks Tastiness:	3
Service Skills:	3
Atmospheric Vibes:	4
Recommendation Score for a Casual Eve:	5
Recommendation Score for Showing off Ealing:	5*
Total average score:	4.2

*Seeing as this was our second visitor we've taken here to technically 'show off Ealing' :o)

Uno Momento, per favore

On Easter Saturday, Pete and I stepped out from our building site and make-shift kitchen and into the wilderness of Northfields at Easter. As we strode up the high street, we felt increasingly foolish for thinking we'd need to book a table as everywhere was deserted! But we wanted something tasty (and not microwaved) so we persevered to our destination - Momento, on Northfields Avenue.

Having done a little bit of research on Tripadvisor and Zomato, Momento seemed to offer all that we wanted - good, inexpensive food, in a relaxing restaurant setting. Happily, not only were we not disappointed, but the few intrepid explorers remaining in Ealing on that Saturday evening thought the same, and Momento was the only restaurant with more than one other couple dining!

The restaurant itself is modern, simple and well presented. There is a small bar and around 10 tables, with the kitchen and wood fired pizza oven at the back. The atmosphere was relaxed and informal, we felt at ease chatting away despite the relative quiet.

Looking at the menu, we succumb to not one, but three courses! For starters we choose olives and the mushroom fritti to share. The mushrooms were more than enough for two people!

For mains, we had to try the pizza. The oven blazing away behind us was too tempting, and they were good. The crust was evenly thin and crispy, which made a change to other local pizza places where the crust is puffed and the base soft. The toppings were good and plentiful.

Finally, dessert was the triumph. I enjoyed the caramel bananas with salted caramel ice cream, and Pete lapped up his enormous wedge of tiramisu, which was surprisingly light.

Overall, we had a really lovely evening. We weren't rushed and enjoyed all of the food. The bill, which came to ~£50 and included two soft drinks and two glasses of wine, felt like great value. We would definitely go back again. 

Summary score table /5
Food Deliciousness:	4
Drinks Tastiness:	4
Service Skills:	3.5
Atmospheric Vibes:	4
Recommendation Score for a Casual Eve:	3.5
Recommendation Score for Showing off Ealing:	5
Total average score:	3.9

L'Oro Di Napoli - On wheels

Finding no website* (...no website, it's 2015!), but a presence on JustEat.co.uk, ordering take away from L'Oro di Napoli was pretty straightforward. The menu has a good selection of choices and felt like it should be reasonable value if you're getting restaurant food. I ordered online and requested delivery in an hours time.

Surprise! 20mins later the pizza turned up! Never have I had such a speedy take away delivery...unfortunately I had ordered delivery for an hours time as my guests hadn't arrived yet. Ho Hum. And the delivery guy had no idea what to do about it except apologise. Not ideal, but I had to take them and managed to keep the pizzas warm in the oven until my guests got there.

Once we tucked in though, the pizzas were good. The bases were nicely cooked, having a proper wood-fired flavour and nice crust. The toppings were tasty. We ordered the Sophie Loren, a decent veggie pizza, and the Maradona, which was really great with a good sausage meat topping, and Massimo ham pizza which was probably the least popular. My one criticism was that there should have more toppings on the pizzas, the veggie in particular felt sparse and given that you are paying eat-in restaurant prices for a take-away, you should get a little more than the basic for your money.

Collective agreement was that these were some of the best take away pizzas we'd had despite the too-fast delivery. It's still not my favourite pizza in the area (I'll save that for another time), but pretty good in general. Next time, I might try eating in....

Summary score table /5
Food Deliciousness:	4
Drinks Tastiness:	n/a
Service Skills:	2
Atmospheric Vibes:	'my living room is ace'
Recommendation Score for a Casual Eve:	3
Recommendation Score for Showing off Ealing:	3
Total average score:	3

*Since writing this blog they now have a lovely looking website: www.lorodinapoli.co.uk (Thanks AJ for the comment!)