19 Catherine Street
London, WC2 5JS
0207 836 6354
So it was my baby brothers 21st birthday and we met up for the day with my parents and after a while we became quite hungry. We were in the Covent Garden area, and not sure what food we fancied.
We turned down Catherine Street and spotted this cute Italian restaurant called San Francesco. It wasn’t very busy inside, so an authentic Italian man was able to seat us immediately. There was a 2 course set menu, which is what I went for, but there was a lot of choice on the menu. Sometimes I need some boundaries with my food choices!
For starter I had a delicious warm avocado with prawns and mushrooms, all mixed together and served in the avocado skins. Really lovely and creamy but not too overwhelming. My dad chose the breaded Camembert that he wolfed down very fast so I can only assume it was tasty.
For main course I had the Trout with capers and prawns and a tomato sauce. We had potatoes and green beans served once our dishes were on the table, silver service style. Apart from when I stupidly took a bite of the tail without really looking at it and therefore got a mouthful of bones, I really enjoyed my dinner. The trout was nicely cooked, and the contrast between the flavours was just right.
By this point I was pretty full, enjoying the wine and joking about with my family. The waiter brought out the desert menu and at first we thought we were too full. But on further inspection of the menu we all decided that perhaps we had some space in our feet.
After stuffing ourselves to the brim we thought it was time to leave, settling the bill and being actually quite impressed. It came in around £25 per person including service charge, which considering the location, the amount and quality of what we had just consumed is actually very good value.
The place had a lovely atmosphere and had that real personal touch that you don’t get with the chain restaurants. You could tell it was a family run restaurant and the staff actually care how your meal is. I have spent some time in Italy, and I would say that it is authentic Italian food. I would definitely go back again, and suggest that you try it too.
Abandon Spoon! 