Festa sul Prato

It’s clear that a lot of careful preparation has gone into Festa Sul Prato. Soft grey walls, muted black lights and a light wooden counter make the place feel more like a Scandi neighbourhood café than a refined Italian restaurant hidden within the suburbs of Deptford. The menu, which is scribbled neatly across a wall that frames the kitchen, is packed with simple dishes that make the most of some truly lovely ingredients. Take the dish featuring a pair of sausages from nearby Bell & Sons, that was so good I audibly grunted with approval after each bite. Meanwhile, a rich and hoppy chocolate tart was made with a red ale from Deptford’s Villages brewery.

But things began to fall down when it came to the delivery. Some dishes simply lack finesse – a starter of squid and pancetta came out oily, while a risotto main could have been lifted from average to irresistible with a big handful of parmesan.

These quibbles aside, Festa Sul Prato is a decent neighbourhood eatery that’ll be a particularly nice spot during the summer months, given its location on the edge of a park. As long as you don’t mind being surrounded by people grunting over sausages.