The Copollo family have run Q Verde for over ten years. The locals are loyal and keep coming back to enjoy the venue’s traditional Italian cuisine in the leafy suburb of Kew Gardens.

The Venue
Located a road away from the beaten garden path of overpriced and overcrowded restaurants between Kew Gardens and the station, this intimate, bistro-style restaurant has a modern look with a firmly traditional food ethos. The decor is stylish and simplistic. A recent revamp makes a feature of the two arches that lead to the back dining room. The colour scheme is now a cool black and white theme, with dark wooden floors, metallic stools along the bar and mirrors on the wall. The tiled patio at the front simply demands al fresco dining at the first whiff of summer.

The Atmosphere
Clientele are pretty much all residents who the staff know by name. The service is perhaps the high point of the evening, as staff make diners instantly at ease with their good humour and attentive service. The staff are passionate and invested in the food they serve. This confidence transmits to the diners, as some regulars don’t even look at the menu, but rather request the kitchen serve up what ever they fancy.

The menu is perched outside the restaurant on a wooden easel, as if this were the Italian Riviera and not a leafy street in Richmond. Staff encourage diners to live out the Riviera feeling by dining in the traditional, relaxed and drawn-out Italian way: with an antipasti, a primi plate of pasta, then secondi meat or fish course, followed by dulce dessert, and then liqueur or coffee if you’ve any room for more.

The Food
The antipasti (£5.90) is a tumbling, generous plate of Italian meats, mozzarella, olives, salad and artichokes. The Napoli salami and Parma ham are both rich and salty, and the Mortadella sliced sausage is smooth without being too fatty. The star of the plate is clearly the homemade salami, shipped over from a family friend in Italy: small slices of cured meat that dominates the palate with intense, earthy flavour. It is just a shame there are only four slices!

The pasta course is the perfect serving size, so you don’t fill up before the main meal. The Pasta Amatriciana (£6.50) is a simple dish of spaghetti with a rich tomato and pancetta sauce. The spaghetti is perfectly cooked, whilst the tomato sauce is confidently spicy and bubbling with the salty flavours of the pancetta and hints of basil and garlic. Q Verde’s special dish of king prawn pasta (£10.90), has a spicy tomato sauce and is crowded with fat, juicy prawns. The sauce is permeated by waves of seafood flavour, which is strong without dominating the soft flesh of the prawns. The large prawns come with their tail on, which means your fingers have to get involved to enjoy the fleshy goodness of the seafood.

For a main course, the liver with fig sauce (£11.50) is a deep and nourishing dish. A sticky, dark sauce matches the intensity of the meat, and underscores it with sweetness. Served with roasted potatoes, beans and carrots, it is satisfying without being too filling. The sea bass (£14.90) is baked with tarragon, parsley, rosemary and lemon, and served whole. Although such a delicate fish could easily be overpowered by so many herbs, all the flavours work together to create a delightful summer bouquet of flavour around the fish. Unfortunately the roast potatoes are overcooked and a little dry, which detracted from the side order of vegetables (£2.50).

Profiteroles with warm chocolate sauce (£3.50) have a firm choux pastry crust, filled with rich cream that melts into the sauce. Three little home made balls of sweetness are just enough after such an extended meal, whilst the bitter edge to the chocolate sauce counteracts the sweetness of the creamy filling. A selection of Mediterranean ice creams arrive in a tall glass (£3.50). Three large balls of caramel, vanilla and chocolate ice cream sit atop each other, and are soft and slightly gooey in the way that only good gelato can be.

The Drink
A bubbling glass of Veneto Prosecco makes an upbeat and fragrant aperitif (£4.50). The bartender is also willing to add a dash of Creme de Cassis to transform it into a variation of Kir Royale, for a more colourful cocktail. A glass of Trebbiano d'Abruzzo is a match made in vineyard heaven when paired with fish. Its bright golden straw colour and ripe peach and apple flavours are intense and bright, and work especially well with the floral herbs in the baked fish. The extensive bar is well stocked to offer a glass of chilled Limoncello as a digestif as well as tea, coffee and liquors.

The Last Word
A little piece of Italy next to a very English garden, Q Verde is the perfect combination of Italian good taste with a focus on local clientele and good service.

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