New and old restaurants in Hatch End, Pinner

Hatch End is a sub-division of Pinner. Hatch End's high street, the Uxbridge Road, is a just along from Pinner. Pinner had the historic black and white buildings including a couple of ancient pubs, connections with Heath Robinson, whose museum is in the Park opposite Pinner Metropolitan line station.

Hatch End station is on the Watford to Euston line. The high street has art deco buildings and its association go back to Mrs Beeton whose famous cookery book taught us all to write recipes starting with the ingredients and then listing the actions to take.

Hatch End is a hotbed of restaurants, especially Italian restaurants, started by 'Mr Fellini'.


Bandaa is urdu for servant or beloved.

Restaurants in Hatch End (alphabetically)
B & K - Jewish style

Casa Mia
On the right below.














Chingon Cocina Mexicana (Mexican Restaurant) second from left.





Dona Theresa on the left.


Coriander - Indian

Lattakia Lebanese Restaurant

Izgara Restaurant

Laboratorio (Italian) Restaurant, Hatch End




Sakonis (Vegetarian Indian) Restaurant

Sakonis, far left.


Sea Pebbles (Take away and restaurant) - fish and chips and more,


Minori restaurant and pizzeria




The Steak Restaurant (far right of photo below)


Closed Down:
Fellini; Serato;

From Hatch End station you can follow a walking route.

Useful Websites For Travellers
Hatch End Restaurants
https://www.instagram.com/chingonlondon/
https://laboratoriopasta.co.uk/menu

Hatch End
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatch_End
Lots of photos are in:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Hatch_End
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:St_Anselm%27s_Church,_Hatch_End

Overground and Underground Railway
https://tfl.gov.uk/tube/route/bakerloo/
https://tfl.gov.uk/tube/route/metropolitan/
https://www.gwr.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Western_Railway_(train_operating_company)
TRAVEL
https://www.visitlondon.com/london-app
singaporeair.com

About The Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker, teacher of English and other languages.
Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts.

Italian Restaurant, Dona Theresa - why?

Problem
Why did I go back to Dona Theresa a second time in one week? If you enjoy something once, is there a danger that the novelty will wear off?

Answer
Why did I go back? Why not? Different people (except for two), different experience. The menu is varied, and the specials board included new items such as a pecan tart.

Stories
Bread and butter is on the table when I arrive, plus the carrot and celery and a dip. The centrepiece on the table is silver and solid.

Starter
This time I started with smoked salmon and avocado. The salmon was salty enough to be tasty, whilst the avocado was a refreshing contrast and added a healthy touch.

For my main course I had turkey, again. Seasonal turkey will be gone by January, so I might as well take advantage of the option whilst it is available.

Manuel does look after the regulars.

Another table had a birthday. The lights dim. Happy birthday to you plays. Along comes a candle like a flashing firework. I've seen this all many times, here and in other Italian restaurants in Hatch End, for the past thirty years.

However, my Indian friend says he has never been to an Italian restaurant before. He usually eats Indian or Chinese. My right eyebrow is doing a little dance of surprise so I hold it down with my fingertips.

He is also very impressed by the restaurant's Happy Birthday performance.

Another member of our group comments how impressed he is by the mural and the whole atmosphere. Yes, Saturday night when the restaurant is full, when the winter starts so early that the candles and flashing lights are illuminating the dark and the reds and vibrant colours of the restaurants, it is at its best.

Mural
The mural is of Venice and we spend a happy half hour analysing it. There's a lot of it, over two walls. Must have taken ages to paint. I wonder whether it was done using a photo. We discuss the perspective, how the boats on the canal are four different sizes. The largest boat is in the foreground. The smallest ones are along the back.

Prosecco
I order a Prosecco. I used to order kir or kir royale in our local Italian restaurants, every time. For years. But now I am converted to Prosecco. It is not an extravagance. It is cheaper than the kir royale. The pink of rose Prosecco sounds attractive and costs no more. But my companion points out that the pink Prosecco is brut which is the driest, so I opt for the plain Prosecco.

I must have liked it because it all disappeared. (Most dry red wines I am offered sit untouched in my glass or get poured away at a wine tasting.)

This time we play musical chairs which is great because you get to talk to more people. I should have moved more when offered the opportunity earlier.

Desserts
Others opted for Christmas pudding, tiramisu or ice cream. The ice cream, said one person, "is a refreshing end to a meal".

I tried to wear my polite happy face as I broke the bad news to him, heavily censored. I said: "Ice cream is full of calories, all cream, or milk and eggs and sugar, frozen calories."

He didn't offer to share. I should have asked, offered to help him diet. He said he would have liked to have been given a choice of ice creams, as he had three flavours. But he ate every one of them quite happily. He never offered me any.

The lighting is impressive. Some may consider it gaudy, but I thought it was very tasteful and lively and colourful.

We finished with coffee. I had decaff.

Plus, of course, at least one of the mint chocolates. Since you ask, two. You have a choice or orange foil or green foil. Curiously, meaning I am curious as to why, but also it is strange, that I flatten out the foil in the vain hope that I shall save it and use it again to decorate Xmas cards. Yet other diners to do the opposite. They scrunch it up into a tight ball. Sacrilege! Cruelty to foil. I wanted to save it and re-use it. I was foiled.

The toilets are conveniently, if you'll exclusive the pun, on the ground floor opposite the bar. The ladies was enhanced by a pink dancing candle. The supply of toilet paper was copious. About three white rolls, stacked up by your right hand, all vying for attention.

Service is good. The restaurant is just the right size, not too small and not too large. You can always raise your hand and catch the eye of somebody serving, even when they are at the bar at the far end. If you want your food wrapped up to go, no problem. You need a paper bag with handles/ Manuel will fetch you one. (If you can't remember his name, it's Manuel, like the waiter in the TV comedy programme about the restaurant, Fawlty Towers. Still having trouble remembering the name, you need a manual.

If you are a regular, Manuel will greet you warmly and look after you. A very pleasant evening.

I have written other posts on Dona Theresa and the other Italian restaurants in Hatch End in this blog and on TripAdvisor. I also have several posts about my recent trip to Umbria in Italy.
Come back tomorrow. I shall add some more photos of Dona Theresa restaurant.

Dona Theresa, Italian restaurant,
451 Uxbridge Road,
Hatch End,
Pinner,
Middlesex
HA5 4JR
England.
Tel: +44 (0)208421 5550
Website:donatheresa.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
Please like my posts and share them. You can read more about me and link to me and follow me on Facebook and LinkedIn and Twitter and Instagram. You can watch me on YouTube. Read about my books and buy them, new or old, from Amazon and Lulu.com

Choosing a restaurant for a group Christmas party

Problems and Questions
I have had two meeting with groups at Dona Theresa, Italian restaurant, this December 2016. (Gosh - it's nearly 2017.) At the first party, one of my fellow guests asked me and the others on my table "Why did you choose Hatch End, and why this restaurant? How did you know about it?"

She was from Kenton and did not know Hatch End but had parked outside and saw that Hatch End has four Italian restaurants plus about twelve more restaurants. All are within five minutes walk, up and down both sides of one short, wide main street called The Broadway.

Three of the committee members live in Hatch End. Committee members had discussed all the possible venues for a Christmas party in this location and two of three others nearby. We had already had a successful party here. Was it time for a change?

Answers
We needed a place large enough for all our potential members. We wanted the entire restaurant so we could have speeches. We did not want to commit money in advance, before we had time to collect it from the members, nor did the club want to pay for those who had to cancel if they fell ill, nor get in arguments with them about not refunding their money. After all, the whole exercise was to create goodwill amongst members, cement commitment to the club, and have a happy time. Large restaurants will only give you the whole restaurant if you guarantee a certain number of places.

Then there is the cost. If you have to guarantee a certain minimum, you need a certain number to break even. Do they need a deposit?

And do you feel that the restaurant, regardless of their terms, are simply explaining the economics from their point of view? Are they being unfriendly and aggressive, unhelpful, uncompromising, unwelcoming. Or are they being nice about it, agreeable, saying, "I'm sure we can work it out"?

Stories
A couple of our members enterprisingly, or perhaps greedily, depending on your positive or negative view or life and other people;s motives, went along to sample the food. They wanted to try the turkey, probably the most popular choice at Christmas time in England. What could go wrong? Who knows? Even a reliable place can go downhill, maybe in case the chef had changed or changed suppliers.

A vote was taken on the shortlist of restaurants. Phone calls were made.

One thing must be said about Manuel, he is always smiling and happy and keen to help. Other restaurants had problems. We could have the whole restaurant on a different day. We could have half the restaurant on the same day, sharing with other groups or individuals.

The same thing happened with the second group, much smaller. The alternative restaurant could take our initial numbers, but when we wanted a larger group, they did not have room. Restaurants are limited by the numbers their cooks and waiters can cope with. That is pretty obvious. They may also have to take into account things you don't at first think of, such as fire regulations limited the numbers on the premises.

Would I change anything for a group? Yes, not having any table for a large group for only four people (not my choice - other committee members). The result was that one group consisted of three people who were on the table for four, with an empty seat because one person was late.

So they met nobody new and looked neglected. That table was a round table and could not be pushed together with one of the longer tables. I would choose square tables you could push together.

I would also get half the people changing seats half way through the evening. Any VIP should move table or go round the room speaking to each person.

Have lights full on during the speeches so that any photo or video can be taken and will be in good enough light and focus without time-consuming editing. Also a few people at the back might to hear. Having lights on enables them to lipread.

Tips
Check dates and size of restaurant.
Advise all guests of parking and postcode.
Give everybody the phone number of the restraint and an organiser, in case they get lost.

Dona Theresa Italian Restaurant
451 Uxbridge Road
Hatch End
Pinner
HA5 4JR
Tel: 020 8421 5550 / 0352
www.donatheresa
twitter @dona_theresa
Facebook Dona Theresa Restaurant

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube.
Read about me and my books on Amazon and Lulu.com
Like my posts and share.
Photos by Angela Lansbury, copyright 2016.

Dona Theresa Italian Restaurant Christmas Party Menu

The Menu Choices
The prices were £19.95 + 10% service charge for a three course lunch. £23.95+ 10% service charge for a three course dinner.

Unlike many places offering groups a choice of three starters, three main courses, and three desserts, Dona Theresa offered 12 starters, 14 main courses and five desserts.

Decoration
The restaurant has a lovely mural. In addition it was beautifully decorated, with silver crackers, a blue wreath, and giant red goblets.


Pre-dinner Nibbles
Bread and butter was on the table. We also had plates of carrot, and celery and dips.

Starters
This time I wanted cannelloni filled with spinach. I normally like fish or meat.
Afterwards I re-read my own revue of this restaurant on TripAdvisor from last June. I praised different dishes. Oh, well, it's nice to have a change.

Tips
I shared the turkey and the lamb shank. I thought the lamb shank was wonderful moist. The turkey was drier although it came with the usual great trimmings including the sausage and stuffing. (I see from my photo that it was a plain long sausage, not the short sausage wrapped in bacon which in England we call pigs in blankets.) I had not a small portion of prettily decorated food like a small sun with satellites, but a large portion plonked on the plate to fill it and my tummy.

Salt?
The person who ordered lamb shank thought it was too salty (I've had food which seemed too salty to somebody else at another restaurant nearby as well). Apparently other pairs of people have also had the same mixed reaction, one of a couple says it's too salty, whilst the other says it's just right or nothing wrong with it. But the person who orders the food should be happy. We were offered an alternative but only wanted to comment - we didn't want to change it. I wonder whether your choice of wine makes the food taste saltier.

I and one other person shared our desserts of Christmas pudding and creme brûlée. We both preferred the creme brûlée.

We also had a good red wine.

Coffee was included. I asked for decaffeinated coffee and was asked what kind of coffee,espresso, cappuccino, latte ... I opted for latte. Mint chocolates wrapped in foil were placed on the table.

The ground floor toilets are convenient. By the time we left, around midnight, I was so happy.

Dona Theresa Italian Restaurant
451 Uxbridge Road
Hatch End
Pinner
HA5 4JR
Tel: 020 8421 5550 / 0352
www.donatheresa
twitter @dona_theresa
Facebook Dona Theresa Restaurant

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube.
Read about me and my books on Amazon and Lulu.com
Like my posts and share.