Da Mario- a neighbourhood find

Good neighbourhood restaurants aren't easy to find at the best of times. In Central London, its a bloody nightmare. In Covent Garden I assumed it wouldn't be possible. Surprisingly, I found one.  Da Mario is an unassuming little place, from the outside and from the inside, but with an almost perfect Urbanspoon rating, it seemed to be worth a shot. 







The Boyfriend and I headed there one Tuesday, with a reservation booked earlier that day. It seemed we got lucky, as whilst we ate, the restaurant became packed - with mainly what seemed like locals confirming that this was a truly different place. Several of the waiters and customers were on a first name basis, a rareity in this area thats difficult to call a "neighbourhood".

We started with fritto misto with a slightly uneven coating of batter but still delightfully crunchy. The homemade tartare sauce was tangy but creamy and took the rather ordinary misto to another level.

Paccheri with sausage and brocolli, was much more satisfying than the one served round the corner at Strada, and a good three quid cheaper. The pasta, al dente, certainly tasted home made and the sausage flavour had coated every strand. A hit of chilli, broke through the oil and I was truly happy.


Veal escalope with black truffle, mushrooms pesto and marsala wine. The Boyfriend reported that the the veal was melt in the mouth tender, and that the "juicy sauce married with truffle was a wonderful combination".

Throw in two glasses of wine, and chatty staff and we left, well, satisfied, and only £ poorer. The fact that the food is excellent, the staff charming and atmosphere authentic  makes it a great choice especially for this neck of the woods. Would I want to devote a Friday or Saturday to the place - probably not. Would I happily devote any other day of the week? Yes.