Review: Bunga Bunga, Battersea

Bunga Bunga isn’t a term widely used to describe good Italian food.

In fact, good is probably the exact opposite of Silvio Berlusconi, Italian prime minister and convicted fraudster, whose name ties closely with Bunga Bunga.

But let that be no more! Bunga Bunga, the Italian Restaurant in Battersea, doesn’t have just ‘good’ Italian food, it has great Italian food.

Arriving with little expectation, we were told we would be receiving three pasta dishes and a glass of wine for £15. How much can you get for so little? A lot, apparently.

The pasta dishes were served in a genuine Italian family style which made the restaurant that much more authentic. Out it came in three large bowls (way too much food for two people, but we weren’t complaining), amazingly fresh mushroom ravioli, a pine nut and pesto spaghetti and a delicious bolognese.

On the side came the freshest tomato and mozzarella salad I have tasted in a long time. For £15, you really can’t get much better than that – a truly delicious after-work meal for such a bargain.

We decided, however, to go the full hog and get a few cocktails and a dessert (greedy is a great word to describe us, but when you’re presented with such great food, why not?). Out came the cocktails in the most kitsch glasses I’ve ever seen, each in the shapes of Mario and of Silvio Berlusconi. Delightfully tacky which I loved.

We ended the night with tiramisu and a chocolate mousse, washed down with two shots of Limón cello and live music from Barbarella, probably one of the most talented bands I’ve heard as of late.

All in all, a really wonderful night and we’ll definitely be hitting up Bunga Bunga many times in the near future.

By Meredith Berman