Le Querce - top secret foodie haunt
Le Querce - the local restaurant that's so understated, it's practically a speakeasy - has been listed in The Times today as one of the top 20 secret foodie restaurants. They say:
Some of the finest Italian food in the UK is to be found in a slightly outwardly shabby high-street restaurant on Brockley Rise in southeast London. The view of the MOT centre opposite might not be the best but the atmosphere is buzzy, warm and friendly. The pasta is home-made by the chef and owner, Antonello Serra, who has cooked at Michelin-starred restaurants in Sardinia and Bayswater in West London.
The menu is divided in the traditional Italian way — antipasti, pasta, primi, secondi, dessert. The pizzas are thin, crispy and with basic toppings — “speck and rocket”, blue cheese or simply salami; the secondi courses are similarly simple — lamb cutlets on a vegetable bed, for example, or the pasta: Bufala ricotta ravioli with butter and sage. The pudding is home-made ice cream in exciting flavours — chilli chocolate, or banana with cardamom and ginger. This place really is a diamond in the rough.
With thanks to Nuno.