Harrow-on-the-Hill's Incanto Restaurant - and A Romanian With Insights Into P r o e s t i

Problem
Where to eat with fussy friends?

Answer
Incanto Restaurant at Harrow-on-the-Hill.

Harrow-On-The-Hill
The drive up the steep hill takes you from modern Harrow through narrowing streets to ancient Harrow. At the summit is the school.

The statue of Elizabeth I looks down from high on the wall. Henry VIII's portrait dominates the green.

Buildings display various style of architecture. As you drive up your eyes are elsewhere. Parking is at a premium.

Once out of the car, you can enjoy the scenery. On the other side of the green from Incanto is an old red telephone box. It's the only thing which nobody has bothered to paint. But still red, evoking the good old days.

So British. A shop window show the boys' school uniforms and straw boaters. Who's for cricket?

Incanto Restaurant
The deli at the front seems to have expanded. It probably hasn't. I love the amusing signs. In the deli section you can see the food being cooked.

Beyond the beams and glass is the restaurant at the back. Incanto restaurant has changed hands but the standards is still  just as high.

Menu Choice
The choice is not large. However, everything is cooked fresh.

Midweek they have a busy lady's lunch. Pizza.

Children also have their own menu. It's suitable for children aged seven and under in both style and, I presume, portion sizes.

Tables and Seating
It was a hot day and we moved away from the sun streaming though an overhead window to the back. Usually I like to sit against the wall. Back to the wall gives me a feeling of security. I can watch who is arriving - nobody creeping up. A chance to wave down a waiter. A  chance to put down my bag without tripping up the waiters and passers-by. An opportunity to admire the decor, as well as the other diners.

But that's the problem. Other diners can be a distraction. This time I sat facing the wall. I found this new for me position had the advantage of encouraging me to give my dear friends my undivided attention.

Our server was from Romania, P r o e s t i. We had driven through it on the way back to Bucharest. Its the last place you drive through before the airport. We had speculated as to what would make somebody leave P r o e s t i for London.

The girl from Romania was as delighted to meet tourists who had passed through her town as we were to meet her.  (More about her city in the next post.)

We were all trying to lose weight and keep fit, and had our eyes on the dessert menu, so we went without starters. I recalled that the dried parsnip on the soup had been wonderful on my last visit.

Complimentary amuse bouche. Photo by Angela Lansbury. 

Just as well we went without the starter. Up comes another course - the complimentary amuse bouche. (French for amuse mouth - an on the house taste.) What was it? Mushroom canapé. Just the right thing to keep the customers amused while the chef cooked up the main course.

Two of us had deliberately chosen different dishes for our main course so we could share out the vegetables and get more variety.

The dishes were a delight to look at. All four dishes looked good.

Meat dish.

Fish dish.

Delightful Desserts
At first we were not happy with the lack of fruit in the desserts. All sugar, pastry, little fruit. However, my chocolate dessert came with a choice of ice cream or sorbets. I find vanilla is boring, are rarely tastes of vanilla. I asked for an alternative. The child's menu had more flavours and the server recited them.

One person chose tiramisu. My friend chose melon, with blueberry sorbet. She said the melon had not much flavour but the blueberry sorbet was the best she had ever tasted.

Chocolate dessert with fruit sorbet. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

I was equally excited by my dessert.

The coffee came with neatly presented cubes of contrasting brown and white sugar. One row of three white cubes, one row of three brown. I was tempted to rearrange them into alternating lines, checker board style. But I did not want to handle sugar others might be eating.

All in all, a very satisfactory meal.

Descend the wide spiral stairs to the toilets. An amusing picture of two squirrels is at the bottom of the stairs. Inside the ladies is what I missed even in the five star hotel in Brasov, Roumania. Incanto had what all grand hotels and restaurants in London and around England provide. Gourmet hand gel and matching moisturiser.

Perfection.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. All photos by Angela Lansbury, copyright. More articles on London, England, Roumania, other tourist trips and tips on learning languages. Please share links to your favourite articles.