A Braccetto Earl's Court: Good Italian food with no fuss

A Braccetto is new to the scene and sits in Earl’s Court - which is one of the most lovely, pretty and characterful neighbourhoods in the capital.

A Braccetto is “committed to sourcing the best produce from Italy and the UK” – because they say that when restaurants and growers work A Braccetto, or arm-in-arm, “food tastes that little bit better”.

The restaurant is right by the station and is an open space with room for diners in the front restaurant area, a bar area by the open kitchen and a hidden away dining area at the back.

The menu is made up mainly of pizza, pasta and wine and pretty much nothing more complicated than that.

My boyfriend and I shared the smoked tuna with fennel and orange salad and the burrata with focaccia to start.

The description of the restaurant is actually as the food comes, it’s relaxed, it’s to-the-point and there’s no unnecessary fuss.

The ingredients were fresh, delicious tasting, and I’d never actually had smoked tuna as opposed to smoked salmon before, and it’s safe to say it was a winner.

My boyfriend and I both chose A Braccetto’s signature dish for mains – nothing other than the penne vodka with salmon.

Although the other pastas and pizzas did appeal to me, this jumped out for a reason, and it was a good reason.

With tiny chunks of salmon, a sweet creamy sauce and a portion of penne that was filling enough (sometimes that’s rare these days!), I can understand why this is the signature.

We both absolutely devoured our portions and it was nice to eat food that had been made fresh there and then.

Partnered with a beer and an Aeperol Spritz too, you really couldn’t’ go wrong.

Although we were full it would have been rude not to have dessert – especially when there are chocolate and hazelnut “hugs” and a tiramisu on the menu.

My boyfriend is a big tiramisu lover, and where I don’t actually eat it because I don’t like coffee, even I was tempted by the whopping great big slice of goodness that was put on the table.

He finished it with no question, and absolutely loved it, but I still don’t believe anything can beat the “hugs” I ate.

Imagine a sugary doughball with hot Nutella inside, and then imagine something 100x better and I reckon we’re close.

The warm hazelnutty chocolate oozed from the dough into my mouth, and I think I went to heaven.

It really was like one of those warm cuddly hugs that you need for a pick-me-up when you’re not quite feeling right.

I’ll be back, if anything, for a hug like that again.