Penny Flood tucks in at Hammersmith's only Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant

Pretty little L'Amorosa is a gem of a restaurant, a proper local restaurant, the sort that should be on every high street. By that I mean it's a restaurant with reasonable prices and good food, so frequent visits won't break the bank.

There's a short, frequently changing menu, which I approve of as it means the chef can concentrate on doing a few things well, and the frequent changes mean there's always something new to look forward to.

As the name suggests, it's Italian, although chef Andy Needham is from Yorkshire, but he previously worked at Zafferano in Belgravia before relocating to West London, which he says is nicer for his childrren to grow up in. And who's going to argue with that?

Anyway, Central London's loss is Hammersmith's gain, something not wasted on the locals if its popularity is anything to go by. We went on a Tuesday evening and it was filling up fast.

And what about the food? For something to nibble on while we browsed the menu, we had a basket of focaccia, grissini and ciabatta with olive oil. I'm a sucker for Italian breads so was very happy. But be warned, before you order this, it is delicious and too easy to fill up on it, not that it bothered us.

As vegetarians, we were delighted to see more than one vegetarian offering and no risotto in sight. Too many restaurants, even the posh ones, seem to think it's OK to fob vegetarians off with that greasy rice dish, so L'Amorosa got a thumbs up for that.

Our starters were barbabietole, which was golden and candy beetroot with red pears and pecorino crisp and burrata cheese with aubergine, vine tomato and basil olive oil. Burrata is a soft cheese made from cows' milk with an outer shell of solid mozzarella around an inside of stracciatella and cream.

Burrata is round and came to the table with a cheesy wafer stuck in it so it looked for all the world like an ice cream, which gave me a moment's panic as thought they'd brought the dessert by mistake, which of course they hadn't. The service is charming and impeccable. The remaining bread came in useful to dip in the soft cheese and the beetroot juices.

They were both as tasty as they sound.

The other starters were capocollo (a sort of dried pork) with apple air cured beef, wild rocket and vincotto, a sticky dressing made from grapes that's been around since Roman times; and bresaola which is air cured beef with goats cheese.

To follow we had potato gnocchi with girolle and chestnut mushrooms with porcini butter, and pumpkin ravioli with gorgonzola and crisply sage.

The ravioli was golden and there was lots of it. Colour wise it outshone the gnocchi, but both dishes were beautifully executed and delicious. I can vouch for both as we shared everything.

For non-vegetarians there is agnolotti - parcels of beef cheek ragu cooked in Chianti and rosemary;   corn fed chicken with potato puree, broccoli and pumpkin; roast cod with lentils and salad; and braised venison with polenta.

The portions are generous, so at this stage we decided to forgo the desserts but this was research and, frankly we wouldn't have been doing our job properly if we hadn't at least tried.  At first we thought we'd share one dessert,  but eventually settled for two:  frutto and sorbetto, and tiramisu.  I'm no tiramisu expert, but if they're meant to taste of coffee and  be creamy and slightly boozy then this one ticked the boxes.  The frutta and sorbetto was a dish fresh mango and passion fruit with a great big creamy coconut sorbet.  Lovely.

There's an interesting, all Italian wine list with prices that start in the lower twenties and go up to more than £60 for the very special stuff.

And the price?  Altogether with three glasses of wine our bill came to £75.50 which includes VAT but not service.  Any cash tips go directly to the serving staff. 

It's great for dinner but I'd also say one of the starters with a salad would make a great light lunch for just over a tenner.

With the chains taking over so many places along our high streets and prices getting silly, an independent, affordable restaurant serving really good food is to be treasured.  So well done Andy and team and long may L'Amorosa last

L'Amorosa, at 278 King Street, is celebrating the fact that is the only restaurant in Hammersmith & Fulham to have retained a Bib Gourmand in this year's Michelin Guide with a Michelin Early Dinner Offer.

There's still time to enjoy the Early Dinner Offer, launched by chef patron Andy Needham, offering 25% off all food on bookings from 5pm till 7pm on Tuesdays to Saturdays until Friday 30 November.

The 25% discount offer is valid on all food from 5pm -7pm Tuesday to Saturday and diners are advised to book early as it is only available for a limited number of tables per night. The 25% discount does not apply to wine or other beverages.

Guests must book ahead and quote 'Michelin Early Dinner Offer' to take advantage of the 25% discount.

Bookings can be made on the  L'amorosa website  by email bookings@lamorosa.com.uk or calling the restaurant on 020 8563 0300. 

This offer is only available till 30 November 2018. L’Amorosa and its management reserve the right to withdraw the offer at any time.

November 19, 2018