Spaghi is a lovely local Italian restaurant! It is situated on the busy island opposite Archway station. But once inside the restaurant, the traffic can barely be heard!

The inside of Spaghi is made up of the dining area together with an open kitchen. The back of the restaurant opens out into a pretty area decorated with a wall of fairy lights! The restaurant is fairly spacious; it has dark wooden furniture, an ornate fireplace and small decorations!

For our starter, we had the Melanzana Parmigiana. This was a baked dish of sliced aubergines in a tomato sauce, topped with mozzarella. The tomato sauce was really tasty and it was good that there was a generous amount of aubergines in the dish.  The Melanzana Parmigiana wasn’t too rich and creamy, which made it a good starter dish.

The menu had lots of pasta and pizza mains. We fancied some risotto though but this was not on the menu. We asked the staff if they did risotto, just on the off chance that it was one of their specials that we hadn’t noticed. The staff said that unfortunately they did not have risotto on the menu at the moment.

While we were deciding on the main meal, the same member of staff came over to us and said that the chef could make us a risotto as long as we didn’t mind waiting a short while for it. We were really taken aback that Spaghi would make a meal especially for us. We were offered seafood or mushroom risotto; we went for the latter. For our side dishes, we had sauteed potatoes and grilled vegetables.

The risotto had lots of mushrooms and we could tell that it was a freshly cooked. The risotto was a hearty dish, although we found it slightly salty. But I’m sure that if we ordered it again next time and asked for less salt, the chef would be able to accommodate us.

The grilled vegetables were a selection of aubergines, courgettes and peppers. The sauteed potatoes were sliced new potatoes. It all went well to make our meal complete!

Instead of dessert, we had peppermint tea. It was served by the cup not by the pot. There was also freshly squeezed juices on the menu.

Spaghi really impressed us with its staff, service and quality of food. At the end of the meal, the chef came over to chat to us. He told us that all the food was freshly cooked to order and that he doesn’t have the dishes prepared beforehand. He also told us that he makes all the desserts on the menu and none of them are just bought in. You could tell he was proud of his cooking and the restaurant, and he had every right to be!

Spaghi Pizzeria Ristorante, 6 Archway Close, Archway, London, N19 3TD

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I have walked past this cafe every day for months, and never gave it a second look until now.  Maybe it’s because secretly I’m a snob, or maybe it’s because I have a tendancy to judge a cafe based on it’s neighbourhood.  Whatever my reasons for not trying this cafe before today, I’ve learnt these two valuable lessons…one, never judge a cafe by it’s neighbourhood and two, stop being such a snob!

From the outside it really doesn’t look like much, but this probably has to do more with the area than the cafe itself.  Once inside though, it’s a completely different story.  The cafe is very clean and stylish, with both indoor and outdoor seeting.  There’s also a small lounge area with sofas.  A great deal of effort has obviously gone into the decor.

When it comes to choice, the Hamlet menu tops the bill.  Whether you simply fancy a light snack, tasty salad or a builders lunch, the menu has it all.  But this is me remember, so  I ordered burger and chips!!

The staff at Hamlet Cafe are extremely friendly and I didn’t feel pressured into placing my order, though it did take me a while.

Excellent selection of food and beverages, brilliant atmosphere and great staff.  If you ever find yourself passing by Hornsey Road, I highly recommend that you take a break at Hamlet Cafe.

Hamlet Cafe, 437 Hornsey Road, Islington, London, N19 4DU

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