Unreasonably good (or go there before it closes)

It really didn't need 3 consultants to rip apart the business model at Giaconda Dining Rooms to conclude that the place defies all restaurant conventions:

1. The place only has 32 covers in a tiny tiny space (Charlie was literally wedged into his seat)
2. They do not turn tables
3. They do not open at weekends
4. Last orders is at 9:15pm
5. They have an unreasonable number of dishes on offer each day, including about 12 starters, 12 mains, and another 6 specials of the day
6. You can probably swing a small mouse in their kitchen, which makes the number of dishes on offer even more incredulous
7. The wine list is ridiculously reasonable, with about 80% of the list under £30 a bottle
8. Cover charge of only £1 a head includes free filtered sparkling water, bread, and olives
9. 3 courses with 2 bottles of wine between 3 comes to under £50 a head

The only way I can explain is it that they must own the property, and that the chef and his team are seriously doing it purely for the love of their work. In any case, I am so scared this place will go out of business soon that as soon as we finished our meal there I immediately booked another table.

I guess one of the ways they make the business model work is to use some cheaper ingredients. As is the vogue nowadays, offal features heavily on the menu, and I think the word 'unctuous' must have been invented specially for their crispy pig trotter 'cake'. Definitely my favourite thing we tried that night:

But the use of ingredients is a bit cleverer than just going back to the offal recipe books. The other stand out dish of the day was their crumble of creamed shallots and wild mushrooms. It will contribute to my future heart attack, but what a great idea for a dish:

Annabel's pumpkin risotto was also really worth trying. Unlike most pumpkin risottos, it was all about the pumpkin, with lovely big chunks through it:

The mains were slightly less exciting I guess, but Charlie and Annabel did choose theirs on the basis of spying on our neighbours. Their rack of lamb sounded boring, but is beautifully presented an a 'tian' of vegetables looking very lovely:

My own main was also quite boring sounding, and looked pub food almost - grilled sirlion of veal with coleslaw - but was perfect. Leon needs to stop messing around with their coleslaw and just steal this recipe. Also very good, rustic, skin-still-on chips:

Puddings were less exciting, but all well done. A pear and chocolate sorbet, iced nougat with raspberries, and another crumble, this time pear, quince and apple with a clove ice cream. That clove ice cream was the only thing I was really unsure about during the meal:

And bless their hearts, we were the only customers left when we ordered another bottle of wine, and they didn't even flinch. But we did feel tremendously guilty for keeping them late. It is that kind of place, real family-run feel, even down to the slightly dodgy toilets that they obviously didn't have the budget to renovate when they moved into the space.

So, we're off there again this Friday! I'm already trying to decide what I am going to eat!