Review: Locale County Hall, 24 April 2008

Locale was a last-minute choice for us, as it was close to the Marriott County Hall and in the middle of a downpour anywhere close was preferable!

The first thing that struck us as we walked in was the wonderful aroma of freshly-grilled beef. The kitchen is a long, thin slice of the restaurant, and is open to view from the dining area.

The restaurant itself is quite stylish, with beautiful looking, waif-thin waiting staff of both genders. Service itself was reasonably quick and efficient.

However, the food itself was a mix in terms of quality.

As starters, Gerry chose the Calamari, and I went for the Salude Miste - a mix of Italian cold meats served on Sardinian flatbread with tomato salsa and shaved fennel. The calamari was pretty generic, tasting like it was pre-purchased (and not a patch on that at Ha-Noi Cafe in Abingdon) and as for the Salude Miste - sadly, that was a triumph of style over substance, with the meats lacking flavour and the bread dry and dull.

However, the meal was rescued by the main courses. My pizza Frutti Di Mare had a wonderful crisp base, and a fantastic tomato and basil sauce with the fresh basil shining through. The seafood was fresh-tasting and lively, while the capers were thankfully not over-used! Gerry's dish - short, thick pasta with an italian sausage ragu was tasty and a far cry from a usual bolognese sauce.

We had other things to do, so we skipped dessert - and this was probably a good thing, as the two courses with a couple of glasses of wine was a total of £58 including the (already added) 12.5% service charge.

Overall, this was a reasonable meal, with nothing that really provoked complaint - but if you are going to spend £30/head on two courses, even in London, you can do much better.

Locale County Hall
3b Belvedere Road
LONDON
SE1 7GP
Tel: 020 7401 6734