Caffe Caldesi
118 Marylebone Lane
W1U 2QF
Tel: 020 7935 1144
http://www.caffe.caldesi.com
Date of Last Visit: 20 September 2008
The Victims: Jeff, Geoff, Christine
The Damage: Unknown. Jeff paid!
The Background: I was on a roll after my cooking class at Marylebone's L'Atelier des Chefs. Where else could I take a class? (Yes, I have always liked going to school.) A bit of Google-ing turned up La Cucina Caldesi, another London "cookery" school. (I put "cookery" in quotes because in American, we just don't say "cookery.") I would save learning to cook at La Cucina Caldesi for another day, but there was nothing preventing me from eating in one of their two restaurants on a Saturday evening.
The Entrance: I'm a litte on the early side and opt for a glass of Proseco in the downstairs bar area. Jeff arrives shortly afterwards and asks for a glass of something red and "chewy." I admire the antipasto misto platters as we're waiting for Geoff and Christine. Even through I just had a big three-course meal (minus the dessert, more or less), I am starving.
The Starters: We all share an antipasto misto and the calamari. Both are good. The antipasto misto is huge. I'm not sure how they could say this is just for one person.
The Mains: I opt for the special, which is spaghetti with mussels and a little bit of a kick to it. The waiter warns me that it's spicy. It's not! Just mildly so. You English…such virgin tastebuds!
The Conversation: I come clean on my life-long regret: I should never have dropped out of Irish step-dancing lessons.
The Verdict: I like it here. The waiters were charming, Italian-ly so. My food was nice, if not particularly spectacular. It strikes me as a nice neighborhood place. For those of you lucky enough to live in Marylebone.
