On Sunday I went to Harrods for lunch with Sunny in London. Our precise destination was the Marchesi Café, which is a pop-up restaurant that is part of Pradasphere: the Prada exhibition on the fourth floor. The Marchesi Café in Milan is part-owned by Prada, so it makes sense that the whole Prada experience is completed by either a lunch or an afternoon tea when going to visit the exquisite exhibition.
Located along which would normally be the Georgian Restaurant, the Marchesi Café evokes a sense of being on the continent. With shelves of sweets lined up along the wall, there is a timeless beauty to the space.
To start off lunch, I enjoyed a Champagne cocktail …
… whilst Sunny enjoyed a Kir Royale.
And of course, because it was a Sunday afternoon water was also being sipped at the table.
For starter, I had a fennel with anchovies and orange salad. There were some capers in there too. And I really enjoyed this salad, which was light as well as delicately tasty.
Sunny tried the mozzarella and tomato salad, which looked really good. It’s been a while since I’ve had mozzarella and I bet it was a delicious choice. To find out, you’ll have to see what Sunny says about her experience.
For our main … and I’m just throwing in this photo because I loved how the mains arrived …
I had one of the veal dishes which came with mashed potatoes and peas.
This dish was light and seemed simple but as with all good Italian cuisine, the simplicity allows for the quality of the ingredients to shine through.
One of my favourite dishes ever is a drizzle of truffle oil, shavings of pecorino cheese and pasta. Simple and very tasty.
So yes indeed, simplicity is key with good Italian dishes.
For my side, I had an artichoke with parmesan cheese …
… whilst Sunny had a risotto with saffron for her main and …
For our second cocktails, we both had a Spritz: Prosecco and aperol, which I absolutely loved. I could have easily had a second.
But to go with dessert … a selection of pastries (filled with jam, rice pudding and apple) …… as well as truly delectable creme caramel …
… we had a glass of Champagne each. But of course!
With great company, wonderful surroundings and a carefully thought out menu, the afternoon was pure delight.
It was the perfect preamble to a fashionable treat: Pradasphere, which will be the subject of my next post.
Marchesi Café, 4th floor, Harrods.
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