Chaineating Strada Style

With the definite exception of wagamama, I am most certainly not an aficionado of the various London restaurant chains, yet having enjoyed a number of meals at Strada in recent years; I thought that a Friday night pre-theatre trip to the New Burlington Street branch with my sister was worth a shout.

Situated just moments from elegant Regent Street, this particular Strada is undoubtedly well-placed for London’s shoppers and as such was exceptionally busy by the time we arrived. The high quality interior works well with dark wood tables, wood floors and various plants combining in a large modern space.

A bottle of complimentary filter water was brought over to the table – a nice touch, especially in London. Having recently been told that trying white wine is altogether unnecessary, I gave the go-ahead for the waitress to ‘pour away’ from the excellent bottle of house white that we had also ordered.

Admittedly, the menu all looks good and I know from previous experience that the Strada pizzas are first class, but this time I had a cunning plan. By ordering a basket of hand stretched pizza bread with pesto and tomato as a starter I could go for a more traditional main and get the best of both, or so I thought.

As such I opted for the Pollo alla Milanese of pan fried chicken breast in seasoned breadcrumbs with spaghetti in a tomato and basil sauce. The pizza bread arrived quickly and was as good as I remembered, with the authentic, thin and crisp base covered in a rich combination of delicious pesto and tomato.

Unfortunately what was to follow was not of the same quality and looking at the various mains being served, Strada need to urgently re-think their strategy on plates and the plating up of their food.

Sitting on a huge, long white plate I was met with a decent sized chicken breast, a segment of lemon and a pathetic spoonful of spaghetti that looked like it had come straight out of a tin marked ‘Heinz’ and certainly never seen a basil plant before. Fortunately however, it tasted, really rather good.

The chicken was succulent and whilst hardly testing of a professional chef was faultlessly cooked. The lemon was squeezed of its last bitter drop and worked wonders, combining nicely with the spaghetti and tomato sauce, which by now was almost making me smirk it was so paltry in size.

Having both ordered the same main (again!), by the end of the meal there were two clean plates on the table, which were swiftly whisked away into the kitchens and replaced with dessert menus. Whilst I couldn’t claim that ‘it was all that pasta I‘ve eaten’ I was however, in no need for any further food.

The bill of £44.26 was settled and the last of wine finished before we left having enjoyed two delicious courses in lively, smart surroundings and actually with very little to grumble about. Whilst I still prefer the charms of the independent restaurant, Strada now joins wagas on my list of ok chains.

The Great Wagamama Challenge 2009

In true Eastenders style we decided to head ‘up west’ and tick Leicester Square off the list of restaurants set to be visited as part of the Great wagamama Challenge 2009.

Head downstairs and it’s definitely one of the smaller restaurants in the group but also one of the best with its exposed brickwork and intimate alcoves.

Ordering is a doddle in wagas, a green tea and a tap water without thinking, possibly even a fresh juice if I have a voucher.

‘Are you ready to order food?’

Given that ordering anything other than a chicken katsu curry is always a gamble too far, I could have ordered as I was coming down the stairs to be honest, just shout ‘number 71’ into the open kitchens in fact… although as it’s all done electronically now, that probably wouldn’t get me very far.

If 8 is a lucky number in China then 71 must be a very lucky number in Japan, as that of course is the number of the wonderful chicken katsu curry.

But what’s this, no yasai katsu curry for Emily?! It’ll just have to be the chu chee snapper special instead then.

I order a side of miso soup and pickles, managing of course to get in my classic line ‘miso hungry’, which is a sure-fire hit in any wagamama.

The food arrives separately as we were rightly told to expect, with the katsu looking good, possibly a little light on the curry sauce front but with a good serving of ‘mixed leaves’, drizzled in its own unique and delicious dressing.

Snap the chopsticks and get to work on the leaves, easy. Not so easy when it comes to picking up sticky rice but then that’s why the good people at wagas always brings you a spoon and fork.

No need for the fork just yet as I saw through the deep-fried chicken fillet with the spoon edge, spinning it in my fingers and shovelling on a good dose of sticky white rice and a healthy coating of curry sauce in one much practised and silky-smooth movement.

As far as katsu’s go this one is right up there with the best of the best and things only get better when a further bowl of lightly spiced curry sauce arrives to make up for the initial ladle ‘not quite’ full.

The miso soup was suitably piping hot and refreshing, with the accompanying pickles as sweet and beautifully neon as ever.

Using the fork to spear the last few grains of rice and I’m finished, miso full! And what about the chu chee snapper? Good, but definitely no yasai!

With a 2for1 voucher the whole meal comes out at just £13.15, which in my book is jolly good value.

The only downer on an otherwise perfect meal comes in the form of my change, finding that the £5 note brought back to me has been defaced with red marker pen, annoying but quickly offloaded in exchange for a Timeout and a bag of Jelly Tots at Piccadilly Tube station.