Wedged in amongst the plethora of restaurants, shops and bars on Clapham High Street, this popular high concept venture draws a line in the sand for would-be competitors but fails to elude the pitfalls of the franchise eatery.

The Venue
With dingy and congested being common adjectives used to describe this thriving yet hardly aesthetically pleasing end of Clapham High Street, Strada’s polished and compulsively neat concept offers stark contrast and a welcome retreat from the commotion outside.

Inside, down to the bowls of red and green chillies garnishing every alcove, the green and red theme permeates the restaurant’s every pore and coupled with the dark wood tables and floors, upholstered seating, ambience-breeding soft spotlighting and featured art deco walls, this is a clearly thought out operation that has left no stone unturned.

The Atmosphere
Even on a weeknight the restaurant is consistently full but as customers tend to come with the intention of a quick satisfying feed as opposed to a long, drawn out dining experience, this is the perfect place for walk-ins. The staff do a great job of quickly turning tables over and seemingly managing to accommodate every party who walk through the door.

Service is professional if a little insistent at times but delivery is as fast and reliable as the proverbial well oiled machine. Despite the fact that the restaurant is always packed, the mood is a little anaemic. The rapid table turnaround is clearly good for business in terms of volume but as people constantly come and go, it is difficult to shake off the canteen vibe and the feeling that you are expected to eat and leave as soon as possible.

The Food
Understandably Strada plays it safe and sports all the usual crowd pleasers in a broad menu of self-confessed traditional Italian fare. Starters are extremely generous in the portions department and are a snip at £4 - £7. The Antipasto Misto at just shy of £6 is phenomenal value and blessed with the total absence of mortadella, the Italian luncheon meat, cannot be recommended highly enough. The huge portion, more than enough for two, arrives piled high with soft, melt-in-the-mouth buffalo mozzarella, slivers of prosciutto, thick cut, incredibly moreish speck ham and garlic-rubbed, char-grilled ciabatta drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Even a handful of black olives that taste inexplicably like prunes cannot derail this tour de force.

Mains average around £8 - £11 with the exception of steak, but should be avoided on this evidence as basic mistakes snowball Strada into culinary purgatory. Supposedly creamy Risotto Di Verdure uses the al dente approach a little too liberally and its consistency is reminiscent of setting glue. An uncharacteristically frugal stack of unseasoned tough green vegetables do little to improve matters.

Sauteed chicken in breadcrumbs arrives with almost raw green beans, an inexcusably poor bitter tomato sauce and rosemary cubed potatoes in dire need of seasoning and a few more minutes in the pan. The chicken is well cooked and crispy on the outside but utterly bland, the oil it is cooked in the sole flavour. The portions are huge in a clear attempt to imitate a hearty home-cooked meal like Mama used to make - only Mama did not make it and would be unlikely to ever set foot inside here.

Then… the Bufala pizza, usually a reliable litmus test of a pizzeria, emerges from the kitchen to save the day with serious aplomb. The light tomato sauce, vine cherry tomatoes and melted buffalo mozzarella top a base that is brittle, crunchy and lighter than air, which leaves the toppings free to express themselves. When it comes to pizza and imported raw ingredients that require little or no cooking, Strada is a winner.

Desserts are excellent value at either side of £4, the highlight being a soft, not too sweet Panettone Bread and Butter pudding served with vanilla ice cream and fresh caramel sauce. While the currants are juicy and the eggy pudding melts in the mouth, one jarring note is the bitter caramel sauce, which is too smoky.

The Drink
The all-Italian wine list ranges from £13 - £42 but there is plenty on offer for £20 or less for those on a budget but who don’t want to compromise on quality. The selection is far more exciting on the red side than the white, but with two Pinot Grigios on the list there is a rare decision to be made for the veritable cornucopia of Claphamites who choose Pinot Grigio indefinitely. Wines by the glass are excellent value at £4 or less. The Verdicchio Classico, despite having little on the nose and being quite sweet for a dry white, has a lovely deep straw colour and a zesty acidity making it perfectly delicious with cured meats.

The Last Word
Perfect for those weekday evenings when cooking seems too arduous a task or for a quick lunch to break up a hard weekend’s shopping - no more, no less. Treat it as solely a pizzeria and you won’t go far wrong.

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