I am gluten-free. As a consequence, I generally avoid Italian restaurants. Not any more…
Vicino is an Italian restaurant just off Parsons Green, on the New King’s Road. It’s taken over from xxx.
The vibe is cosy and family-run. By the time you leave, you kind of feel like the team know you personally – I feel like it’s the kind of place that would welcome you by name on a second visit. The interior is basically anything you want it to be. On warm nights (ours was particularly balmy), you can kind of kid yourself you’re in Italy. And in winter, I can only imagine it’ll be super cosy and comforting – lots of red and rich wood, with an ecclectic variety of decorations.
About half way through our meal, all the lights dimmed and “Sweet Sixteen” started playing. It was someone’s birthday (definitely not sixteenth).
I was there with my lovely friend Sarah (co-host of the Hoxton Radio Fashion Show) last Friday night.
We started with a cocktail each – I had G&T, Sarah had a Mojito. Then we moved onto wine. About which I know frightening little, so we asked our waiter to choose for us. He nailed it, naturally.
Choosing food was tricky – the menu is vast. Helpfully, they’ve noted next to each dish whether it contains gluten, which eliminated a few options pretty fast. More places should do this – so much better than having to ask for a special menu and draw attention to the pickiness!
After much debate, Sarah went for the calamari to start and I had parma ham with feta and figs.
For mains, I had the salmon superfood salad. It was exactly what I fancied after a heavy week of canape-fuelled events – quinoa, sun-dried tomatoes and avocado with poached salmon steak.
Sarah had lobster. Which she kind of had to have, since she’d been speaking about it the whole way there..
By the time they offered the dessert menus we just couldn’t. But they looked mega. We dimly contemplated hanging around ’til we could find space, but it seemed silly. In heinsight, I wish we had…
For bookings, visit their website.
Olivia x
