It has become an annual event to go see a Christmas show! This year, it was Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty. A slightly dark take on the classic fairytale with amazing dancers and sets.

After our festive show, it was time to fill our tummies! As we were in Angel, there were quite a few choices. The consensus was to go for Italian food and what better place to head to, than Jamie’s Italian.

Jamie’s Italian is in the fairly new, recently renovated Angel Building. As it was Christmas time, everything was looking very festive contributed also by the fairy lights and soft lighting. The bar area is separated from the restaurant by the deli shop. We were seated in one of the curved booth areas on the upper level.

The big festive feast began with a range of antipasti plates. Smoked mozzarella features heavily on the menu if you are looking for vegetarian dishes! Sliced chestnut mushrooms on the thin crispy bread was the baked dish. It was topped with smoked mozzarella and fresh thyme. The mushrooms were not overcooked and the bread was crispy.

The Pumpkin and Smoked Mozzarella Nachos were not what we were expecting. Instead of tortilla chips, these were crispy fried ravioli. Once we had accepted that the nachos were in fact filled pasta pillows, they were enjoyable. It was served with a spicy arrabbiatta sauce. One thing that was a bit strange about these nachos was that there were a few chunks of amaretti biscuits randomly on the plate. We came to the conclusion that they were not supposed to be there and that they had accidently come from one of the dessert dishes in the kitchen.

The last starter dish was Stuffed Risotto Balls. This time the filling was porcini with smoked mozzarella. The risotto balls were big, crispy and tasted good.

The food was cooked and served in a range of terracotta dishes and rustic plates. Small silver pots contained the chips and the breads. The Funky Chips went down a treat. They were chunky, crispy, skin on and were sprinkled with parsley and slivers of garlic.

The Italian bread selection had been stacked into the pot in an orderly fashion. The bread was fresh from the artisan bakery. All the breads were great and included rosemary foccacia, sourdough, tortano, crispy “music” bread and ciabatta. It was served with the classic combination of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

The Famous Polenta Chips were pieces of polenta that had been fried. They were sprinkled with rosemary salt and parmesan. They tasted okay but I enjoyed the funky chips more.

After lots of chatter, we felt that it was time for the next course. The Pasta alla Norma was spaghetti with aubergine, chilli, basil and oregano. This was a classic Sicilian pasta with the rich tomato sauce bringing all the flavours together.

The Honeycomb Cannelloni 3 Ways was an interesting dish. The cannelloni were cut into small tubes and baked. The 3 ways, meant that the fillings were either aubergine and sun-dried tomato, pumpkin, or ricotta and spinach. It was a bit of a chance on which flavour of cannelloni you would get! Although all of the fillings were tasty, my personal preference was the aubergine and sun-dried tomato one.

The best risotto that I have ever had has to be this one here at Jamie’s Italian. The Wild Truffle Risotto was made with finely minced black truffle. Even though the risotto had butter and parmesan, it was so light yet creamy. It was not claggy and stodgy like risottos that I have had at other places.

Dessert time meant more indulgence! Sharing desserts is always fun and makes it more interesting. What could be better than Tiramisu?! The answer is Tiramisu made with orange mascarpone. The coffee trifle, creamy orange mascarpone and chocolate were a match made in heaven.

Even though the Sour Cherry Bakewell was described as being made with tart berries, I was happy that it was still fairly sweet. The slice had a delicious almond filling. The clementine rippled sour cream went really well with the cherry and almondy cake.

The classic Warm Brownie was given a nice twist by being made with raspberry and amaretto. The brownie was rich and chocolaty and it had to be had with the vanilla ice cream.

The staff were friendly and gave service with a smile. The service was slightly slow at times, like when we asked for extra drinks or cutlery.

Jamie’s Italian gave us a great food and a good atmosphere for our early Christmas celebrations. Even though the restaurant was very busy, it wasn’t overly noisy like it can be when there are lots of people. The big size and different levels of the dining area may have contributed to this.

There is a nice display of big trays of coloured pasta at the entrance of the restaurant. The deli shop has a good range of foodie gifts that you could treat yourself to or give as presents.

Jamie’s Italian, North Retail, Angel Building, 403 St John Street, Islington, London, EC1V 4AB

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For something a bit different, head to Kipferl, situated in the quirky Camden Passage. This Austrian/Viennese cafe has a relaxed feel to it. The cafe area is at the front and the small restaurant area is at the back. The cake counter divides the two areas. The restaurant area is casual too. There are a few seats outdoors.

The staff were friendly and gave service with a smile. They were great at recommending dishes, so that we had enough to share but were not over ordering.

The spinach dumpling sounded interesting but we weren’t sure whether to have it as a starter or to have it as a second main dish. It was good that the staff said that the starter portion to share would be enough, even though you only get one dumpling! If we had ordered it as a main, then we would have been struggling to have room for some of the other food and drink.

The spinach dumpling was topped with toasted slivers of almonds and grated organic mountain cheese. It came with brown butter and a green leaf salad. The dumpling itself had a strong flavour and it was quite stodgy, in a good way! The crunchiness of the almonds, the softness of the dumpling and the cheese strands went really well together.

The dish of Kasespatzle was presented in the iron skillet that it had been cooked in. It was a good portion to share. The menu described this dish as pan fried noodles. As it said noodles on the menu, I instantly imagined that it meant noodles of the Chinese variety!

So, I was surprised when our dish came out and it was more like a pasta dish. Saying that though, it was a fantastic creamy dish. It reminded me of a macaroni cheese in its texture and had that rich taste of cheese going through it. The Kasespatzle came with a green salad dressed with pumpkin seed oil dressing.

Coming to Kipferl would not have been complete if we did not try their cakes and coffee. The coffee was slightly bitter to what I prefer. I needed sugar with it which is something that I don’t normally add! The apple strudel was delicious. Slices of apple with sultanas all encased in crispy thin pastry!

If you fancy something sweet to take home with you, then Kipferl do serve their cakes and biscuits for takeaway too! They also have other Austrian delights such as chocolate, pumpkin seed oil, pickles and wine on offer!

Kipferl, 20 Camden Passage, Islington, London, N1 8ED

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Caribbean and Brazilian food is cuisine that I have never tried before. It always sounds interesting but think that I have shied away from it, thinking that it would be too spicy for me. So coming to dine at Coco Bamboo was exciting as I wasn’t sure what the food was going to be like.

The entrance goes into the bar area and then upstairs is the dining area. There is also a floor on the lower level and a rooftop area. It has pretty cool lighting with black net domes as the lightshades. There are palm trees, fairy lights and mirrors decorating the restaurant. Each table has pretty flowers, though on a closer look, these were artificial flowers.

On Coco Bamboo’s menu, there were a couple of fish and chicken dishes that sounded nice. I asked the staff whether the meat and fish were fresh or had they been frozen. She herself did not know, but did go ask her colleague. The other staff member came and told me that some of the dishes are prepared in the morning and the meat dishes would be frozen. I appreciated the honesty of the staff. They were friendly and made sure that everything was okay with our meal.

It was a little concerning though when I had chosen the vegetarian option on the menu and then the staff said that she was not sure if they had any left. Luckily, after she checked, they did have that meal available.

The Veggie Bobo was a good dish full of sliced and chunky vegetables. It came with basmati rice.  Carrots, courgettes, aubergine and chocho were coated in the creamy cassava and coconut milk sauce. The aubergine slices were a little undercooked to my liking. The sauce was creamy but not too heavy. There was some spice flavour coming through as well.

Chocho was something new to me. I thought it was green pepper at first. Chocho has a light watery taste to it and I’m not sure if I was that taken by it.

The Brazilian Fish Moqueca that my friend had was a fish stew made with coconut milk, sweet pepper and tomato sauce. This came with basmati rice as well. There were good pieces of white fish in the stew and it made for a filling tasty meal.

Dessert consisted of a Mango and Coconut Creme Brulee and a Chocolate and Brazil Nut Terrine. The Creme Brulee had the classic caramelized top that gave a good snap when it was cracked. The coconut flavour was quite subtle. The mango puree was topped with the creamy rich layer.

The Chocolate and Brazil Nut Terrine was served as a slice with a scoop of spicy chocolate ice cream. It also was drizzled with some red fruit sauce. The ice cream definitely had some heat to it and the flavours worked well together.

It was a nice evening out at Coco Bamboo and it was good to try some new different flavours! It’s a shame that the food is not as fresh as it could be.

Coco Bamboo, 48 Chalk Farm Road, London, NW1 8AJ

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