Caldesi
Walking and walking we finally made a decision to eat at Caffe Caldesi, encouraged by the bustle, sight of an available table and award stickers on the door. We decided to eat in the caffe bar area on ground level rather than in the first floor restaurant.
We ordered bread, olive oil and olives to start (£3.50), asking for one portion to share this was a wise choice as there was more than plenty lovely breads and olives to share. My veal Milanese (£16.50) arrived and the Kiwi’s steak (£16.50) – all looked promising, and succeeded in hitting the spot for two tired, hungry, late-in-the-afternoon diners. The Kiwi’s steak special was cooked rare, as requested, on the grill and my Milanese had been beaten down to a couple of millimetres of it’s life, and on the bone with lovely potatoes and a nice fresh salad.
Veal Milanese
Grilled Steak
Having just returned from Tuscany in Italy two days before, the atmosphere in the place certainly seemed in the right vein of Italian eateries. The Italian staff were a little slow and ‘antipatico’ at times – two ladies sitting next to us later on had arrived to enjoy a coffee and cake. The coffee arrived quickly but after 20 minutes the cakes had not and the coffees were finished… on asking for the bill and making the point that the cakes had not arrived the cakes made their entrance, a little late since the idea had been to have a coffee AND cake! Also, Italians are known for loving children and being very child-friendly, but twice I had to assist parents trying to exit the caffe through the awkward double door set up… as the staff watched me interupt my meal to do so and not bothering to think that it might be their job!
All in all, with so much choice in the area and not knowing what to expect and no recommendations to hand we thought we made a great choice, ate well and happily, apart from having to pay an obligatory service charge of 12.5% which I am not sure they earned – I should have asked for it back as my door-woman fees!
Caffé Caldesi, 118 Marylebone Lane, London, W1U 2QF.
T: 
020 7935 1144
| F: 020 7935 8832 | E: caffe@caldesi.com
