Lago di Como — Restaurant in England

Me and my partner were visiting Harrogate recently, and decided to nip in spur of the moment as we just wanted a quick bite.

We were told a table would be available shortly, it just needed to be cleaned. When we asked for a menu whilst we waited, we were told they don't have them, but they could tell us what everything was. They did this, but no mention of prices. They were clearly expecting us to order then (not a problem), so we did, and were told to make our way upstairs and it would be brought up.

When we went up, the table hadn't even been cleared, and we expected someone to come and clean it as they first said. The first we saw someone was when they brought our food. They cleared the table, but did not clean it. Not great during the covid pandemic.

We hastily ate and left, and found the food.... Highly subpar. I ordered a lasagne which was cold in the middle, and only the very edges were hot. The rest was luke warm, at best. Even the warms bits weren't really nice, despite me picking lasagne as a safe dish.

My partner ordered the pizza and we didn't finish that either as the base was so cardboard-y. When we left we went to get food...

In 1978, I made a memorable trip to Italy. I had to be smuggled out of the country under a pile of coats, but that's another story. I was dropped off by a lift I caught in Germany outside a small cafe on the outskirts of Milano. Inside, I discovered, to my immense joy and satisfaction that food can be more than just fuel and coffee is a drink created in heaven. That cafe, by some miracle, seems to have been transported through time and space to an unpromising little street in Harrogate. Everything is exactly the same. The windows are painted in red white and green with bits of the writing worn off by time. The decor and furniture bear the patina of use. The food brings tears to your eyes just to look at - flans stuffed with tomato and olives, spicy sausage, breads and salads, chunks of ham and wedges of cheese. I had oily focaccia with chili sausage and a flat white beyond human description. The staff are friendly and Italian. It isn't posh. It's not the latest thing. It totally doesn't belong where it is. Only one thing about its new surroundings reminded me of the first time I saw it. "Fa freddo" was the first phrase I...

Warm, cosy, friendly and yummy. Four words that immediately come to mind when describing this wonderful cafe in the heart of Harrogate. As you walk in you feel that you have been transported to Italy with the idle chatter of the language hanging in the air along with smells of coffee and fresh food. The staff are friendly, happy and courteous which is always a big plus in my books. I felt very welcome.

Sour dough toasties were the choice for what I thought would be a light bite but turned out to be extremely filling and equally tasty. A fresh pesto on the side to lavish the already scrumptious filling of cheese and meats was a wonderful, fresh touch. The coffee was good and on a wet and dreary day certainly did its job. The large counter area was filled with bread and goodies which I shall try on another day as this lovely cafe is well worth a second and probably third, fourth (you get the...