Made In Italy,
249 King’s Road, London SW3 5EL - Telephone: 020 7352 1880 - www.madeinitalygroup.eu
The UK has so many Italian restaurants it’s sometimes difficult to choose which ones to go to, as pizzas and pastas are the same, right? Wrong! Really wrong, and visiting Made in Italy has reaffirmed this for me.
This family owned and run restaurant chain has a rationale that just resonates with me, and if the Thursday night we visited is anything to go by, resonates with the locals of the cosmopolitan King’s Road as well. For a start, how many owners do you see rushing around serving and being so hands on, as well as having time to chat to every diner making them all feel welcome? Not many I would guess, and a cheery ‘bona sera’ started our culinary journey.
From the outside Made in Italy doesn’t give any clue as to the delights inside, as it is like any other shop front. Indeed, when you open the door in front of you you are confronted by some stairs which looks to be for a flat, but as you turn right into the restaurant the de´cor is clever and shows a clear attention to detail, and the authenticity flows through to everything they do at Made In Italy. The ground level de´cor is like the outside of an Italian villa, with that warm terracotta colour and windows that feel so real you half expect them to be opened at any time, the lower level is the engine room with an open kitchen and a pizza oven where diners can watch the magic happening from a ring side seat, and the upper split level with its bricked arches gives the feel of an Italian wine cellar. I understand there is also an outside roof terrace for diners, but on a cold March evening it was surprisingly empty, unlike the inside of the restaurant that was packed and many tables were turned over twice!
The tables are rustic with wooden seats and that just adds to the feel that this is not a synthetic chain, this is genuine, and you are really in a back street Italian restaurant in Naples rather than the swanky King’s Road.
The menu also has those personal touches as instead of nibble/snacks to eat whilst you peruse the menu, here you have Sfizi (Italian for Whimsy) and Taglieri (Italian for breadboard) as well as the more common Antipasti section. Good as the Bruschetta with Sicilian cherry tomatoes and mozzarella (£6.90) is, or the Meatballs in rich tomato sauce (£4.50), you really must go nowhere except the Burrata section. Burrata is a fresh Southern Italian cheese similar to creamy mozzarella and this is made specially for them by their Italian cheesemaker in Battersea, to sell only in their restaurants and it is just sublime. The choice is so wide we couldn’t choose between the Burrata with Sicilian cherry tomatoes, basil and oregano (£7.50) and the Burrata Atomica (£8.90) where the buratta is wrapped in pizza dough and fried and then topped with pesto and parmesan shavings served in a rich tomato sauce. Made in Italy are proud of their product, and I can really see why. This cheese is so light and creamy with a wonderfully fresh taste and the sharpness of the fresh tomatoes are perfect with it, but it was the Buratta Atomica which was the star of the show. The contrast in textures between the light and creamy cheese and the doughy pizza bread along with the explosion of flavours is hard to describe. All I can say is you must try it.
After such a first course I was struggling to see how things could get better, but again I was proved wrong. Made in Italy focus on their strengths, so for mains the choice is pasta or pizza, no Carne, but for a true carnivore it didn’t bother me as the choice is again wide and you will be struggling to decide as I changed my mind at least four times as I went down the menu. Because of this indecision, my wife and I decided to share our mains and opted for the Pappardelle, Mushrooms, Italian sausage, Truffle Oil (£10.90), and the La Bombazza pizza (£13.50) with Mozarella, Italian bacon, caramelised onions and whole buratta and chips. The pappardelle was fresh and slightly al dente and was well flavoured by the rich truffle all surrounding chunks of lightly spiced Italian sausage and meaty mushrooms, and was just what I would expect if I had ordered it in Italy. But for me the pizza are a must here.
Made in Italy take the making of a pizza to an art form, as you don’t just select your toppings, you start with choosing the flour that will make your dough, and then the type of mozzarella, and it is this attention to detail that makes the pizza you are served so special. Once you try one of these I am not sure you want to go back to other less exacting offerings along the high street. I selected the Double OO flour which follows an old Neapolitan recipe and the homemade mozzarella, and that combination gave me a light crispy base upon which the salty Italian bacon vied with the slightly sweet caramelised onions for dominance. This is the best pizza you will have, and be warned the sizes are generous.
If you can, do save some room for dessert as the Connollo, and the Deep Fried Pizza Crust with Nutella drizzled on top will finish your pizza dough experience the perfect way, but if you want something lighter I would suggest the fresh sorbets or ice creams. Wine is well priced and unsurprisingly unashamedly Italian and the choice will satisfy every taste. Made in Italy are also holding a special promotion between the 16th to the 19th April where you can pay what you feel the pizzas are worth based on 3 different prices which is even more reason to go.
Although the Buratta is made in Battersea, and the pizzas/pastas on the King’s Road, the feel of this restaurant is authentically Italian, and the love and attention to detail is truly ‘Made in Italy’.
