La Figa

Hearty Italian in the East.

Food

I had been warned that the portions were huge, so I was going to skip entrees, but then everyone else wanted to order entrees, so I went along with it. The Antipasto Misto All’Italiana (£7.95) suited me perfectly as I couldn’t choose an entrée from the huge list. My plate consisted of :

• mixed cold cuts
• black olives
• tuna and bean salad
• prawn and eggs with thousand island dressing
• Tomato and mozzarella

, which were all quite nice but nothing outstanding, but definitely very filling. For mains, I opted for the Monkfish Mariniere (£23.95) - Monkfish, Mussel, Clams and Langoustine in Tomato Broth. I actually purposely ordered this so I didn’t have a mountain of pasta to deal with, still the dish was huge enough that I couldn’t finish it. I was sad about it as it was absolutely gorgeous. I haven’t had Italian this good since I was back in Oz. Needless to say, no room for dessert, but I heard they were excellent too.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

From the outside, La Figa looks like just another Italian restaurant. It’s situated inside an apartment complex, with nothing in the way of décor to convey anything special. The only sign you get is the display of some huge desserts as you walk in the door. I think the people here make up for the lack in atmosphere.

Rating - 2

Service

Well, for a change, all the waiters were Italian. And they serve you in typical Italian style. They treat you like family, but aren’t really serious about anything.

Rating - 3

C-factor

For the portion size, this is definitely a bargain.

Rating - 2

Brownie Points - 14.5

Info

The Mosaic
45 Narrow Street
London
E14 8DN
Phone +44 (0) 20 7403 8403