PChef Manolo Costa (left) with owners Anita Prina and Giampaolo Prina

Italian meal fit for a cardinal

I HAVE been wanting to eat in this restaurant for many years. The reason being that for an Italian restaurant it could not be better placed.
Sicilian Avenue is picturesque and so Italian looking in this very English area of Holborn close to the Aldwych, Drury Lane and Peacock Theatres.
A warm welcome awaited us and we were able to choose a well-positioned table (No 6) although it was in the smoking sector. You know it is good before you get to your table; the other patrons look content with their lot and the staff look the same.
This I find when the owner is present so I assumed Jean Paolo and his wife were the owners. Instead they are the managers. Anita and her husband met 37 years ago when they worked together at the Spaghetti House near Harrods. While the company celebrates 50 years, they have now been together in Sicilian Avenue since 1972.
My friend Agustin could not be tempted by any of the bruschette (crab, olive oil, lemon, fresh chilli and garlic (£4.95) or chopped tomatoes, or sautéed mushrooms – not even by the Gamberoni Saltati (butterfly king prawns sprinkled with salt & pepper and pan fried £7.50).
However he praised the bread and butter (£1.55) while I enjoyed the fish soup which was truly excellent (£4.95).
For a main course we had the Pesce Bianco Olio d’ Oliva e Peperoncino (pan-fried halibut brushed with olive oil fresh chilli & garlic £10.80) and the Bistecca d’Agnello al Rosmarino (pan-fried lamb steak with white wine & fresh rosemary £11.95) which I chose to have with Spinach (£1.80) although a mezzo Fettuccine all’Alfredo (cream, garlic and parmesan cheese) would have also been a good choice.
There is a large selection of pasta with homemade sauces, pizzas and as Spaghetti House describe themselves as Caffé-Ristorante they serve from noon-4pm toasted sandwiches with a side salad (smoked salmon £4.95, Bel paese and ham £4.95, Mozzarella anchovies and tomatoes £4.95, 130 gram Minute steak with grain mustard £7.50.
The exhibition kitchen in the middle of the ground floor lent itself to asking if the chef could prepare my favourite of all favourites – Zabaglione. Assistant Chef Alexander obliged gladly and two magnificent glasses of the frothy mixture of egg yolks and Marsala were brought by Jean Paolo with the announcement: “Boccato di Cardinale” – a meal fit for a Cardinal. And indeed it was.
The Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Umani Ronchi Doc le Marche 2004 was an excellent choice by the restaurant to have as their second house wine. At £13.50 it was very good value – you would normally see this wine at a much higher price on most menus. We were offered a chilled liqueur glass of Limoncello with our coffee.
Spaghetti House have nine locations in London and if they are all as good as their branch in Sicilian Avenue they deserve a visit.

Spaghetti House                                                Click here to book restaurants
20 Sicilian Avenue, WC1
020 7405 5215                                                     click here to go to Restaurant home page

Click here for two for one restaurant offer....enter "camden" when prompted