Italian in Belgravia

I’ve never had great success finding somewhere good quality and good value near Victoria. So I was pleasantly surprised by Da Scalzo.

It’s a bustling place just down the side of the station, towards the coach station. Inside it is bright and modern, with tables on two levels. I tried a few of the starters (not all by myself), of which the highlight was the burrata mozzarella. You don't see this cheese very often, but it’s a fresh mozzarella with an oozing inside of cream and curds of cheese. It was accompanied with some rocket leaves and some olive paste which contrasted with the mild cheese.

Vegetarian antipasto did not push any boundaries but did what we wanted – some roasted peppers, aubergine, courgette, mozzarella and an artichoke heart, plus some humous (moving slightly away from the Italian theme with this last one, I thought). I didn’t get much of the bruschetta but it seemed decent enough, if a bit too cold. Garlic pizza bread was not for the faint-hearted – packed with garlic, and nicely crispy, though I would have preferred it served whole in pizza format, rather than slices in a basket.

Pizzas are definitely a popular option. The toppings are mostly the usual suspects, though my companions enjoyed the Sicilian (tuna, olives, anchovies, artichokes and pine nuts).  My vegetarian pizza was tasty but bordering on dry. If I was nitpicking, I might suggest that fresh spinach would have been better than frozen, and I’m not sure that the raw radicchio added anything other than colour. My friend enjoyed her mushroom ravioli but complained it was a bit small (very often the case with ravioli, or indeed any filled pasta, in my experience). There are also some meat and fish main courses, of which the chicken breast was deemed excellent.

On a Thursday night it was very busy and service was a bit slow, although the staff were apologetic. Prices are not too bad for the area - £8.50 to £9.25 for pizzas and pastas, and £12 to £16 for meat and fish dishes. House red, something Sicilian, is fairly decent and comes in a choice of carafes (just under £20 for a litre carafe).

All in all I wasn’t blown away, but in a busy, touristy area you can do a lot worse.

Da Scalzo
2 Ecclestone Place
Belgravia, London
SW1W 9NE
020 7730 5498
www.dascalzo.com