Mozzarella & more

Last Friday, I went to check out Mozzarella & more on King's Road, the latest opening from 'Made in Italy', a family-run group sharing their love for southern-Italian cuisine. The restaurant was made up to look like a traditional trattoria, with their fresh fish proudly displayed in the window and their vegetables and meats hanging over a deli counter filled with delicious-looking food. It was very popular, with a good buzz of people, and the charming staff made for a great atmosphere.

I was pleased to have some proper olives, boquerones and good bread to whet my appetite, before tucking into an amazing platter of mozzarella, burrata, ricotta, caponata, artichokes and Parma ham. The cheeses are made locally, at a kitchen in Battersea, so they were wonderfully fresh - I loved the creamy burrata especially. The bread was great topped with caponata and rich ricotta, or simply dipped in olive oil and balsamic.

Crispy prawns and squid were well done, with a nice, light batter and a chilli mayo, but I wasn't so keen on crunching through the prawn shell.

The highlight of the meal were ravioli stuffed with crab and Amalfi lemon ricotta - the subtle lemon aroma really complimented the fresh Devon crab meat. They were served with a beautiful cherry tomato sauce and fennel for a nice crunch of texture.

Dessert was a tough choice, with a mouth-watering array of cakes and puddings - a different selection every day, depending on what the chef felt like making! I went for the 'caprese al limon', a fantastic lemon cake with a distinct almond flavour and soft spongy texture - very good.

Everything on the menu sounded tasty, so I hope to go back try some more of their homemade pasta, local cheese and fresh fish. Delizioso!

La Boqueria & Lab G

Today me and my mum went for tapas at La Boqueria for lunch, as a foodie Mother's Day treat! Located on Acre Lane in Brixton, it was just a quick cycle ride for us to get there. It's named after the famous market in Barcelona, and features a section on the menu called "de mercado", which lists the more unusual dishes.

We started off with some "pan con tomate" (bread rubbed with olive oil and garlic, then topped with tomato), which brought us back to idyllic holidays in Spain, where we had it for breakfast every day! These were very light and refreshing.

I really liked one of the day's specials, king prawns sautéed al pil-pil (in a garlic-y sauce), with fresh spinach, which were full of flavour.

I liked these aubergine cannelloni too, which were filled with mushrooms, topped with goats cheese, and then drizzled with balsamic, which brought through a delicious sweet taste.

Another great special was this roast cod, which had a lovely flakey texture, and was served with sweet roast peppers.

We also had some great cheese croquetas, made with manchego and goats cheese, which had a beautiful creamy texture and flavour, with a crispy 'shell'.

A tapas meal wouldn't be complete without calamares. These were quite good and fairly crispy, but not the best I've had - perhaps better eaten by the sea!

For dessert, we shared a tasty "Crema Catalana" - with a crispy caramelised top hiding creamy custard.

After discussing the possibility of flamenco dancing on the perfectly suitable wooden floor with our charming waiter, we headed off the finish the outing with an ice cream at Lab G in Brixton Village. I had the salted caramel and pineapple flavours - the salted caramel is definitely a winner!