Trattoria Rafaele
Trattoria Rafaele
Montecassino's is currently morphing into Trattoria Rafaele - the building has been painted a lovely pale yellow and a bright red awning has just been installed. Looks like Sydenham is getting its latest restaurant!
Woo hoo!
A red & yellow combo doesn't sound the most attractive colour scheme for a shop front, but I'll reserve judgment... !
Are they actually closed at the moment? Any ideas if they're planning a full-on re-launch with new menu, etc? I've never been to Montecassino's but if they've smartened themselves up then I feel like I really should reward their efforts by at least giving them a try
A red & yellow combo doesn't sound the most attractive colour scheme for a shop front, but I'll reserve judgment... !
Are they actually closed at the moment? Any ideas if they're planning a full-on re-launch with new menu, etc? I've never been to Montecassino's but if they've smartened themselves up then I feel like I really should reward their efforts by at least giving them a try
I'm looking forward to trying them, although I'm not a fan of how it looks, before or now. Hopefully when it's finished it will all come together.
It would be good if they had some form of planting behind the prison gates and railings it hides behind.
I hope they get rid of that awful Mona Lisa smoking a spliff painting they used to have. Tacky tacky tacky.
It would be good if they had some form of planting behind the prison gates and railings it hides behind.
I hope they get rid of that awful Mona Lisa smoking a spliff painting they used to have. Tacky tacky tacky.
The what now???? Nice.....leenewham wrote:I'm looking forward to trying them, although I'm not a fan of how it looks, before or now. Hopefully when it's finished it will all come together.
It would be good if they had some form of planting behind the prison gates and railings it hides behind.
I hope they get rid of that awful Mona Lisa smoking a spliff painting they used to have. Tacky tacky tacky.
Suddenly my optimism levels have plummeted!!
I met the new owner the other day and he seems really nice and full of ideas. He says the restaurant is going to specialize in homemade, authentic pizzas (so no frozen bases like most high-street chains!) and I'm def looking forward to trying them out. Oh, and I know what you mean about the old Mona Lisa pic - what was that all about?!?
I hope that the new owners open for lunch at weekends. We would have used Montecasino, only the old owner was adamant he would only open in the evenings as weekends were "family time" for his staff!
We use That's Amore occassionally, but the In-Laws are in their 80's and the walk up the hill is a bit too much!
We use That's Amore occassionally, but the In-Laws are in their 80's and the walk up the hill is a bit too much!
IT'S OPEN.
No fanfare, no bands. I popped in tonight for a look. Menu looks good (I hope they do specials to add some excitement every now and again, I get bored of the same pizza time and time again).
The proprietor seems very nice, I can't wait to try it out. He was supposed to open earlier, but they had a few problems with the set up and the delivery of the pizza oven.
There are no images of Mona Lisa smoking a spliff inside!
Prices are VERY reasonable.
No fanfare, no bands. I popped in tonight for a look. Menu looks good (I hope they do specials to add some excitement every now and again, I get bored of the same pizza time and time again).
The proprietor seems very nice, I can't wait to try it out. He was supposed to open earlier, but they had a few problems with the set up and the delivery of the pizza oven.
There are no images of Mona Lisa smoking a spliff inside!
Prices are VERY reasonable.
I went last night. It was busy and somehow the owner knew my name when I walked in (how about that for service!).
The pizzas are really good. I mean, REALLY good. Light dough, none of these 'break your finger off on the knife while trying to cut through the base" style pizzas often found in pizza e*press.
The tomato sauce is perfect, loads of topping. One of the best I have had. The Calzone pizza is huge and very very good.
The starters we had were ham wrapped cheese with rocket which was excellent (although there was a lot of garnish of red lettuce leaves which we thought were surplus to requirements) and some bread olives and olive oil and balsamic vinigar. Also excellent. Total cost with wine came to 26 quid for two.
Brilliant service, friendly. A real local asset and at last, Proper Pizza in Sydenham. Can't wait to go back.
(Do I get a free drink for this?)
The pizzas are really good. I mean, REALLY good. Light dough, none of these 'break your finger off on the knife while trying to cut through the base" style pizzas often found in pizza e*press.
The tomato sauce is perfect, loads of topping. One of the best I have had. The Calzone pizza is huge and very very good.
The starters we had were ham wrapped cheese with rocket which was excellent (although there was a lot of garnish of red lettuce leaves which we thought were surplus to requirements) and some bread olives and olive oil and balsamic vinigar. Also excellent. Total cost with wine came to 26 quid for two.
Brilliant service, friendly. A real local asset and at last, Proper Pizza in Sydenham. Can't wait to go back.
(Do I get a free drink for this?)
Went there on Friday night with my girlfriend and we both really enjoyed ourselves. The place has been decorated tastefully, the staff are friendly and the service was paced just right. We shared olives, oil and ciabatta to start; the bread was fresh and the olives were very good quality. For main, I had a quattro stagione pizza which came with a proper thin, crispy base, while my girlfriend had gnocci. Both main courses were very tasty and I'm pleased to say we've finally got good pizza in Sydenham. Even though we were pretty stuffed, as the portions are generous, we still managed desserts of cheesecake and lemon tart, which were again delicious. Drank house white which was one of the best house whites I've had and were also provided with tap water without any quibble - some places give you a funny look if you don't pay for bottled water.
A shared starter, two mains, two desserts and half a bottle of wine came to £30. Excellent value, chatty people and lovely food means we'll definitely be going back.
A shared starter, two mains, two desserts and half a bottle of wine came to £30. Excellent value, chatty people and lovely food means we'll definitely be going back.
We went on Friday night as well but earlier than Chazza (were you the man who came in later & sat at the next table with someone from the the musical profession?). We had a very pleasant welcome from the proprietor. We had 2 courses and a bottle of red wine. My main course was excellent with a good garnish of rocket salad. My partner felt his pasta with accompaniament was a little over-seasoned. The puds were delicious. The service as quite good but the waitress is still finding her way. A few visits to Tas would would fine tune her. Overall a good evening & better than the Mexican place.