We all love a neighbourhood Italian and recently I found a new one down in South London, Clapham Junction. Donna Margherita serves up Neapolitan style Italian food just up the road from the station and I was invited down a couple of weeks ago to try it out. It's not the first time I've been – I used to live around the corner and it was a regular spot, but I've never written about it before so was excited to go down again.
It's a cute spot – not large and with a nice outdoor heated terrace, and has been around since 2003. The staff are all Italian and know everything about the menu and wine list. Everything feels authentic and they even have their own olive oil grown and shipped from Italy. The menu is large and well priced, with starters around £7 and pizzas and pastas £10.
I began with a range of starters, kicking off with a simple tomato bruschetta which tasted exactly like it should – charred and excellent bread, rich and sharp olive oil and deep, warmed tomato. Lovely.
Next came A'Parmigian e Mulgnan – baked aubergine in a top notch tomato and parmesan sauce – and Fritturin, a fried selection of goodies including arrancini. I was possibly less enamored by this latter dish, but their potato croquettes with parmesan and parsley were good. On other occasions eating there I've also tried their burrata with Parma ham (aged for 24 months) and it is cracking – fully recommended.
We moved to the mains in a flurry of pizza and pasta. The pizzas are wood fired and predictably good – thin crusts, great sauce, zero complaints. Big too, but thin enough to stop them being heavy. There's a huge pasta list too including lesser seen pastas such as paccheri, obviously all homemade. I tried their O'Scialatiell Ro' Re Ferdinando, seafood linguine with chilli and tomato and enjoyed it. It was packed full of seafood – clams, mussels, langoustine, prawn and calamari – and you'd better believe it was al dente.
Dessert brought me some sort of cake, the name of which totally escapes me, but which was delicious. I believe it was made with ricotta and flavoured with orange, and I do remember wolfing it down.
Donna Margherita brings neighbourhood Italian and tasty Neapolitan to Clapham Junction, and is a welcome alternative to the Pizza Express just down the street. Affordable, authentic food, served warmly by the staff – recommended.
183 Lavender Hill, London SW11 5TE
020 7228 2660
