Ripe Tomato
I find it immensely irritating when restaurants – or any business for that matter – have no website. There is simply no excuse in this day and age and it must do one’s business more damage than one realises. For the most part I won’t even visit a restaurant unless it has a website. I like to be able to peruse the menu, have a peek at the dining room and so forth. Plus it shows that the owner is not living in the past and has some sort of commercial head on their shoulders. Of course, that doesn’t mean that restaurants without websites are no good, and Ripe Tomato is a case in point.
A stalwart of All Saints Road in the cringingly fashionable Notting Hill, Ripe Tomato is the Italian neighbourhood restaurant we all dream about. Family run, at night it has all the atmosphere of a dining venue in New York’s Little Italy; exposed brick walls, fairy lights, small tables and plastic menus. The sons and daughters serve up the grub in typical Italian fashion – with style and flair – while mamma cooks out back and happy diners chitchat out front, filling the room with a buzzing hubbub of clinking glasses and chomping jaws.
The food here is what you would expect from any Italian local; pizza, pasta, meat and fish, but it’s all done terribly well. They have specials too and a good Italian-weighted wine list. Catering to large parties, the restaurant sometimes becomes a raucous place but service doesn’t falter, even when they are serving a table of ten. This makes it a suitable venue for large groups of friends, and when it’s a bit quieter, a very romantic evening meal for two.
This is no frills food, done well and served with a smile, and all for a reasonable price. And remember, this is Notting Hill, but mamma doesn’t charge a premium for the postcode. After all, she hasn’t discovered the interweb either – for all we know she thinks it’s still 1973 – but that doesn’t really matter when she runs such a great restaurant. If only more people knew about it.
Summary: a great local restaurant with smiling service, robust cooking and a vibrant atmosphere.
Ripe Tomato, 7 All Saints Road, Notting Hill, London W11 1HA. Tel. 020 7565 0525.
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10:46 am
I remember back when the Web was new and smelt vaguely of plastic wrapping and leather – Nandos put up a website and it was a big news event. Nowadays it is just expected.
Of course, now the fresh smelling (roses with just a hint of lavender) Internet trend is web 2.0 ala Blogs, Twitter, Facebook etc but soon it will be something along the lines of location based browsing – you type “pizza” into your phone and it pops up a list of all the pizza places near to you with menus, opening times and a bit of information so you can tell your “Ripe Tomato” apart from your “Pizza Hut”.
As this Internet matures (like a fine port or mouldy cheese) you’ll even be able to read reviews on the move both from snooty restaurant critics and your friends to decide where you will feel most at home. Or casa.