Food in London 2 - Vigata

The day that I arrived, my friend and I went to a place called Vigata. When I looked at the menu, I was ecstatic to see a dish that I've wanted to order for a very long time! 

I ordered a pasta dish called Gnocchi which are "various thick, soft dumplings that may be made from semolina, ordinary wheat flour, flour and egg, flour, egg, and cheese, potato, breadcrumbs, or similar ingredients. - Wikipedia" I had previously tried this back in New York at a restaurant called Nizza (took a bite out of my boyfriend's dish!) and I was surprised at how chewy and full of flavor it was. I really loved the cheesiness of it too. However, with that expectation, what I had gotten from Vigata was disappointing and even though I was hungry, it didn't really taste particularly good - which says something! The tomato sauce tasted a little sour (not in the "I think this is expired" kind of way), tasted a little bland, and there was definitely a lack of cheesiness. There was a clear difference in quality between the two restaurants with this dish.

This picture below is the Gnocchi from Nizza and right underneath it is the Gnocchi I had ordered from Vigata.

Of course there would be a difference especially because I'm in a new country and different chefs have different recipes. All I am stating is what was better and why - please keep in mind this is solely my opinion.

After that sad turn of events, Vigata was given a few more chances because it's so close and the prices aren't high up in the sky.

The second time around, it was in the Cafe at my residency (don't mind the messiness in the background...).

The Caesar Salad (in the center back) was just really poor quality. Some may wonder how can you go wrong with a caesar salad, but I've gotta say... it was totally wrong. The Caesar dressing just tasted really weird. There is no other way for me to describe how it tasted other than saying "THIS IS DEFINITELY AND CANNOT BE CAESAR DRESSING!" After one or two bites, thinking it'll get better, I just couldn't go on any further. It was 4 pounds wasted but at least I learned to never get that... EVER.

The fries (the container on the right) were just fries, or should I say, CHIPS.

Moving on to the Pastaaa (the container on the left). I got two types, tomato cream sauce and white cream sauce with mushrooms. 

The cream pasta with the mushrooms weren't bad but it wasn't the best either. It was a little tooooooo creamy... I felt like it was lingering in my stomach? That sounds weird but I'm not sure how to explain it.

The tomato cream sauce pasta weren't bad either but, like the white cream, it wasn't the best either. It was creamy but there was a tinge of tanginess to it. I think it would've been better if I had a piece of bread with the pasta. 

Finally, I went a third time - although this one wasn't planned. My friend said she was going downstairs to get some pasta and so I went along with her thinking she was going to the cafe, but she had stated she wanted it to be "fancy" so we went downstairs to the restaurant itself.

The third time round, I made sure to get some bread. I ordered Penne Pink Sauce - which consisted of penne, tomato sauce, double cream, parmesan cheese, and parsley. 

The pasta turned out to be good but since there was a bit left, I had to get the remainder as take away - the UK form of "to go." The bread was really delicious since it was right out of the oven. Soft and chewy on the inside, nice and crispy on the outside. 

Every time I tried, my experience only got better but at the same time, I think it depends on what you get. Maybe I was lucky with what I tried? But, in any case, the third and final time, at least for now, was the best experience I had with this restaurant.

Vigata - give it a chance if you're ever in the King's Cross area!

Nizza - totally check it out if you're in New York!

 <3