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

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Pub du vin, Birmingham - best French onion soup

We had tried the Hotel du Vin in York and loved their extensive choice of wines, so we booked a dinner at their restaurant in Birmingham. The hotel was fully booked for two midweek nights, but we managed to find a bargain hotel (see my other post) and splurged on a fine dinner.

Wine: I like sweet wine so my choice was tokay. Tokay is from Hungary.

Starters: I opted for French onion soup.  Lovely tasty crispy cheese top. Plenty of onion underneath. Served in a proper French bowl.

My companion had shellfish. The half lemon was wrapped in muslin to stop pips being squeezed into your food. The muslin was tied with green ribbon.

My main course was chicken. Solid pieces of chicken.

Creamed potatoes as a side order cost extra.

My dessert was baked cheesecake. No as crumbly as the New York style cheese cake in the coffee shops in Singapore. But good enough. (I hate those half defrosted mousse cheesecakes which don't taste of cheese nor crumble like cake but look like a piece of blancmange boasting about its ancestors.) I like baked cheese cake.

Baked cheese cake has a huge number of calories. So does any sugary sweet/dessert. But partner in diet or calorie crime did offer to taste my cheesecake.  But he added to the variety whilst adding to the calories by ordering a rhubarb trifle.

I used to like Cafe Rouge, still do. If you think your local Cafe Rouge is three star then this place is four star. If you think Cafe Rouge is even better, four star, then this place is five.

What's not to like? Music was loud but they turned it down.  The tables were round, varying in size from little tables for two to a massive table seating eight, maybe more, but their dining chairs are wide. The table wobbled - due to the real wood floor, but the slice of cork bottle top sorted that out when I replaced it under the table leg.

Service: Smiling but slow. (They said one of their staff was off sick.)

Coffee was not exciting, no magic extra touch. Portions were plentiful. We must remember to take a mini-fridge in the car for leftovers if we ever go back.

I must make a note to go back. Why? For food which tasted really wow factor.