+ One Sunday Roast
Didi and Franc
And the number 5 spot is nailed by posh deli and restaurant Didi and Franc. The review below is from a gastronomic visit undertaken in November, 2023.
It’s been long overdue but we’ve finally paid visit to the little restaurant at Didi and Franc in Kennington Cross. For those not in the know, D&F is an upmarket deli/cheese/bread/wine shop that generally sells gorgeous foodie things that you have no practical use for but still want. The cheese section being particularly good. Didi and Franc are real people and usually on hand and possess a forensic knowledge of the food they sell and the items on the menu as they’re the ones who ordered and cook the stuff. The short and precisely primed dinner menu is Italian.
Karen from finance loves a mackerel, so we shared a smoked mackerel mousse which was light in texture but punchy in flavour, served with some of the delicious sourdough bread sold in the deli. Karen chose to follow this with a vegetarian (possibly vegan) option of mushroom and chestnut tortellini with pesto rosso, cavolo nero and chestnuts. Chestnut feels wonderfully autumnal so it’s nice to see this feature. The generously filled homemade tortellini having a rich nutty taste that went beautifully with a red pepper flavoured pesto and a bit of green hit from the cavolo nero. Karen got so excited that while in the midst of chewing she yelled out, to a shocked room, ‘this dish a triumph’! Or words to that effect.
Beef 
Mackerel
Your scribe consumed beef shin and red wine tortellini with tomato sauce. This was next level cheffy stuff with a very rich, wine based tomato sauce and seven tortellini stuffed with beef shin so delicate that it melted before hitting the back of my palate. My tortellini was perfectly al dente with a touch of parmesan. Pumpkin pie was a surprise dessert not originally on the menu but that had just been rustled up by Franc himself. An American who later joined us declared it to be a world apart from Wal-Mart (we have no idea what this means but is probably a good thing): warming spices blending with the pumpkin puree and with a top-notch sweet pastry crust. Probably not too different to the pecan pie on the menu.
More experienced readers might recall that the premises now held by D&F was formerly an Oddbins and a place of sacred refuge after many a fraught team meeting here at Runoff towers. So when it first opened we were disappointed at the pearl clutchingly high price of their wines. Well can we confirm that either Didi or Franc got the message as the prices are now a bit more reasonable (but still high). And with a certain gift giving holiday just around the corner, D&F could be the perfect destination for your foodie friends. And they also do ‘make your own’ hampers.
The restaurant at D&F is open during the second half of the week and we strongly advise that you book as the first time we couldn’t get a seat.
