September 1st, 2008
In Bloomsbury sits the Balfour Italian Restaurant on Marchmont Street, London. We arrived at around 7.30pm this evening and took a table for two. There were ten other diners eating what looked like nicely prepared meals, so we looked forward to our own. I ordered up a Tomato Bruschetta at £4.95 and a Rib Eye Steak at £12.95. My colleague ordered the Goats Cheese at £5.95 and Penne Pepperoni at £7.95. To drink we asked for a bottle of white Pino Grigio at £14.50. The restaurant is small on the ground floor, with seating for around 30 covers. There are 5 tables outside under the canopy where a couple sat smoking under the overhead electric heaters. Inside the decoration was smart and nicely understated with a clean Italian feel.
Our starters soon arrived and we both agreed that these were good. My Bruschetta was nicely presented on slightly toasted Italian bread with a great seasoned salad side. The goats cheese was very good indeed according to my colleague. Our mains quickly followed. My rib eye steak was nicely cooked and served with a salad side, garlic butter and chips (the ready made frozen variety – shame about that). The Penne Pepperoni was also good according to my colleague and proved to be very spicy. I know this for two reasons. One, my colleague said so and two, I could see the sweat dripping from his brow. The wine was nicely chilled and very drinkable.
By the time we left at 9pm, the place had a few more customers and the staff seemed very busy; but not so much as to miss saying a proper goodbye and thanking us for our custom.
I will go back to this great little restaurant.
Rating: 3 Stars.
Posted in Restaurants