Lunchtime Shennigans at Enoteca Rosso Kensington

The scent of summer was blissfully on the horizon, honeysuckle and dew intermingling with raucous children laughing. Ice cream trucks saw queues of graceful customers, and adults drank ciders in the open park spaces. For it was a glorious spring day where summer had reared its head oh so unexpectedly, as the girl in the red dress, impractically dressed as always clonked heels on flowered pavements, and the children kept on laughing. It would be filled with eating and joy, a brunch at Enoteca Rosso, bubbles overflowing, a blogger hangout at Chelsea Creperie, a date night brimming with passion. But for now the lady in red strode over to Rosso, with hunger in her belly, ready to make new friends and see what the lunchtime shenanigans at Enoteca Rosso Kensington was all about. It was chronicled as a bottomless brunch, so with famished bellies we headed inside and took our seats. Waiters waited nearby to supply us with much needed plonk and the bubbles fizzed on our tongues ever so gracefully, serenading our senses.

We were told that our bottomless Brunch at Rosso would be split into two parts; the first being an unlimited cold buffet that we could tuck into laden with vegetables, cheeses, breads, cold meats and a selection of desserts, while wine or prosecco would be bottomless and we could also choose a ‘brunch-tastic main’ to compliment our meal at Rosso. Admittedly it should be noted from the start that Rosso’s selection of cold buffet items were more ‘lunch inspired dishes’ as opposed to brunch but nevertheless in spite of the allergies, there were still a variety of foods that I could stock up on to my hearts delight.

There were cheeses crumbled on crackers, melting in moreish delight, while fresh homemade breads disappeared into hungry bellies and into welcomed hearts. And who could forget the fresh chopped tomatoes and bocconcini cheese that coated our mouths in waves of orgasmic pleasure. We licked our fingers and came back for more, merrily drinking prosecco as we procured the cold buffet. There would be Stilton dancing with Brie in a war of the cheeses , and focaccia begging to be mopped in olive oil drizzle, plied with copious glasses of prosecco cascading in fizzy delight. Grilled veggies were stacked high in bowls, while steamed carrots and broccoli made their way onto my plate, served with plentiful cheeses crumbled delightfully over foccacia . A blood orange and beetroot salad was surprisingly moreish given the combination, the orange lending a tart freshness to the crisp spinach leaves. And lest we not give a shout out to the unique addition of charcoal bread, which members of our group loved so heartily, an option for meat eaters and vegetarians alike. I would have preferred more ‘interesting’ vegetarian options as opposed to just grilled vegetables and cheeses, but nevertheless what I did have was pleasant enough. Besides who doesn’t love bottomless prosecco?

It would be onto our mains now, the staff were eager to help, allergies? No Problem? Vegetarian? No issue, all in a day’s work. Admittedly the ‘brunch menu’ was very limited, with only one vegetarian option of pink beetroot tagliatelle with sauteed mushrooms served on savoy, which I was allergic to, but they were very accommodating and said that they could do the vegetarian version of the Spinach Florentine, with hollandaise sauce and avocado which I had requested, Unfortunately, had it not been for the avocado, I would have literally just been eating an egg, as the spinach was wilted and overcooked, with little flavour, and the portion also seemed to be half of the size of my friend’s who had the non-vegetarian version of my dish. The egg itself was delicious and well seasoned, but it is not an option I would recommend to vegetarian’s or meat eaters, as my friend had similar comments about the spinach and flavour of the dish too. However I will praise the staff for being friendly, accommodating and kind , and they did try their hardest to ensure that all our needs where met. In short if the main menu had more vegetarian options such as poached eggs on muffins for example, as opposed to just one dish, this would be an improvement that will allow Rosso to become more vegetarian friendly.

That being said, we had at least the cold buffet so I didn’t go hungry by any means, and the selection of desserts were a great way to finish our meal in great company, as we plied fresh fruit salad, apple strudel and soft spongy cakes, shoving them into our greedy mouths with aplomb. The highlight was of course the prosecco, that was regularly topped up at each pause, but food wise unquestionably the fresh seasoned herbed tomatoes with the selection of cheeses, was a great way to cement the ‘summer vibe’ of that weekend, as we refilled until our bellies were full and our hearts were sated. With a twinkle in our eye the last of the prosecco had drip dropped into our mouths thirstily, while the sun grew wider in the sky, we could feel the dazzling light. And so our time at Rosso had come to an end, and while the vegetarian had her quibbles, nevertheless she focused on the positives, remembering the bubbles that gurgled playfully on the tip of her tongue and the cheeses that toyed with her senses oh so sensuously. And while it was no paradise for a vegetarian by any means, at least Rosso was willing to try and be accommodating. And that is more than you can say for many restaurants.

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*Disclaimer

Please note we were invited as guests via Love Pop Ups London but all thoughts are my own and are not affected by complimentary services.