Last week the ‘Eyes of Lady Wimbledon’ bloggers were kindly invited by The Bentall Centre to review the new festive menu at authentic Italian restaurant Carluccio’s in Kingston, and the atmosphere and food didn’t disappoint.
We were blown away with the Christmas decorations and decadent treats as soon as we walked through the door.
The sweet smell of pastries, panettone, cakes and biscuits were heavenly. We were immediately greeted by the friendly and bubbly staff who showed us to our table in a peaceful corner of the busy restaurant.
We we truly spoilt for choice when the menu was placed in front of us and our eyes were immediately drawn to the exquisite descriptions on the page. We started with the Antipasti Della Casa and our favourite – Trio Di Crostini, which was Italian ciabatta bread topped with mouthwatering baby plum tomatoes, garlic and basil, and sweet red onion marmalade with goats cheese. None of us are usually a big fans of pate, however their chicken liver spread was light, creamy and a delight to eat.
For mains, two of us opted for the indulgent seafood linguine, which was a beautiful blend of fresh and flavoursome mussels, clams, prawns and blue swimming crab, complimented by an aromatic tomato sauce. Albeit this was not a very festive choice, it was still a cosy comfort food dish – which is what Christmas is all about!
Lady Wimbledon chose the succulent Truffle Butter Ribeye Steak, which was a tender grass-fed, 21 day aged 8oz ribeye steak topped with rich truffle.
We couldn’t wait to get our hands on the dessert menu, after a quick glimpse at the start of our meal. We tried Carluccio’s award-winning panettone drizzled with Vin Santo syrup (sweet dessert wine from Tuscany) and of course, vanilla ice cream. The Amarena Cherry Gelato was a cool and refreshing option to finish off a tasty 3 course meal.
Overall we highly recommend you try the Italian take on Christmas lunch at Carulccio’s this season. We left with very satisfied stomachs…however that didn’t stop us sampling more sweets on the way out!
Tip: A leisurely stroll through Kingston’s decorative town centre is a must this time of the year.
Visit Carluccio’s in Kingston’s Bentall Centre.
Visit: carluccios.com
Follow: @Carluccios
