We were invited to the ballet at Covent Garden but our hostess had got the dates wrong. As we stood outside the opera house spirits knocked by this admin error I suggested we head down the street and find refuge in Orso's basement dinning room.
The friendly lady at front of house got us a table for 4 in a quite corner. Pre-theatre diners were just finishing up, the staff where gearing up for the Saturday night trade. We all started with an excellent Nigroni, that warming cocktail first made by the barman at Harry's Bar in Florence for an old count, who's name the drink took, who was feeling the chill of a Tuscan winter.
The menu is written daily and is essentially seasonal Tuscan. I ordered a artichoke, bean and mint stew followed by slow roast pork with mash. My fellow diners one had calemari followed by grilled tuna steak, one the gnocchi with a boar ragu and the other a spring greens risotto. My bean stew was excellent meaty textured with the freshness of mint keeping the dish fresh. The pork was tender and sweet with excellent crispy fat and clean bright jus to mop up the mash and side of savoy cabbage. My friends all attested to the quality of their dishes. This was all washed down with a bottle of Dolcetta d'Alba which was the one slight disapointment of the night I was expecting a fuller richer wine. I in my enthusiasm for the dinner rounded it off with a blood orange cake that was tangy and light. Cup of coffee all round.
The Bill came to just over £160 which I thought not all all bad for a theatre land restaurant considering I paid of £80 for a very average lunch for two of us and my young daughter at Ribshack on the Kings Road.