The new Rossopomodoro restaurant in Kingston-upon-Thames is much classier than your typical chain restaurant with a light, cool and airy decor and ample space between tables for a relaxed dining experience. Staff are plentiful, attentive (but not overly so) and welcoming, making it a great place to relax and enjoy simple Italian food. The menu is predominantly pizza and pasta with a number of Neapolitan specialities. For early risers, the restaurant is open from 9:30am for breakfast with an Italian twist.
For our starter, we selected a platter of melt-in-your-mouth Buffalo mozzarella, Parma ham and bruschetta. The bruschetta was fresh with a spicy tang of garlic, and very traditionally prepared (deeply toasted with lashings of olive oil), as a fellow diner pointed out with a hint of nostalgia. We also tried the calamari, which was very tender and cooked in a light tempura batter and accompanied (interestingly) by thin strips of courgettes.
For mains, we selected the Fru Fru pizza with Buffalo ricotta and Neapolitan salami, mozzarella, Parma ham, rocket and basil, the restaurant's most popular pizza, which was deemed by my teenage son to be one of the best pizzas he has ever tasted! He particularly enjoyed the softness of the dough, achieved, we were informed, by cooking the pizza at 500c for 90 seconds. We also had The Pescatora pasta, which had a delicious sauce enriched with octopus and cuttle fish. The pasta was, however, slightly too al dente for my liking. The third of our dishes was the Tonno e Pistacchi; a fresh tuna salad. The fish was cooked to perfection, but the salad was a bit bland.
For the perfect accompaniment to our meal, we enjoyed a bottle of the Valpolicella Ripasso, a lovely dark purple wine with dark cherries on the nose and a rich, spicy flavour. My son, who isn't old enough to imbibe, enjoyed the Lurisia Gazzosa, a fantastic, tangy homemade lemonade. To round off the meal, we enjoyed an indulgently rich chocolate soufflé (very moreish), and three scoops of delicious ice-cream.
Overall, we had a thoroughly enjoyable experience at this family friendly restaurant, which is great for families with children of all ages. So if you are in the centre of Kingston, whether shopping or not, this is a great place to visit.
Our experience overall
Food and drink: ★★★★
Ambience: ★★★
Staff attentiveness/friendliness: ★★★★
Elinor Seath
For mains, we selected the Fru Fru pizza with Buffalo ricotta and Neapolitan salami, mozzarella, Parma ham, rocket and basil, the restaurant's most popular pizza, which was deemed by my teenage son to be one of the best pizzas he has ever tasted! He particularly enjoyed the softness of the dough, achieved, we were informed, by cooking the pizza at 500c for 90 seconds. We also had The Pescatora pasta, which had a delicious sauce enriched with octopus and cuttle fish. The pasta was, however, slightly too al dente for my liking. The third of our dishes was the Tonno e Pistacchi; a fresh tuna salad. The fish was cooked to perfection, but the salad was a bit bland.
For the perfect accompaniment to our meal, we enjoyed a bottle of the Valpolicella Ripasso, a lovely dark purple wine with dark cherries on the nose and a rich, spicy flavour. My son, who isn't old enough to imbibe, enjoyed the Lurisia Gazzosa, a fantastic, tangy homemade lemonade. To round off the meal, we enjoyed an indulgently rich chocolate soufflé (very moreish), and three scoops of delicious ice-cream.
Overall, we had a thoroughly enjoyable experience at this family friendly restaurant, which is great for families with children of all ages. So if you are in the centre of Kingston, whether shopping or not, this is a great place to visit.
Our experience overall
Food and drink: ★★★★
Ambience: ★★★
Staff attentiveness/friendliness: ★★★★
Elinor Seath
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