Lievito Madre turns 2!

It’s hard to remember a high street without this homely Italian, but despite its seemingly ‘forever-ness’ on the street, it’s only just turning 2. We’re sure you’ve already visited, and when you did we are sure you were charmed by the peachy coloured walls, the old school prints of vespas and Fiats, the omnipresent roaring pizza oven, the general Italian ‘vibe’. It’s such a comforting place in there, and the team have worked hard to create a place that really does feel like a home away from home. Good days, bad days and all the days in-between are the kind of days that are suitable for a trip to Lievito Madre.

We had to pay them a visit to mark their birthday and to get a hit of that home cooked, Italian style comfort food. Starting off with a glass of bubbly white wine and the garlicky king prawns was a perfect beginning. You get 8 of the prawns in total which makes for a really generous portion, especially as they live up to the ‘king’ name- big and juicy and a nice kick of chilli. The pizzas at Lievito Madre always deliver. The pizza oven means that they are as fresh as you can get and the bases are thin, crisp and hold a bit of chew too. Our ideal base. We had 2- the mushroom pizza which was a classic tomato base topped with mozzarella, basil and richly umami wild mushrooms and the zucca pancetta. This one was a little different- it came with a pumpkin base instead of tomato on top of which was pancetta, mozzarella and scamorza affumicata. This last cheese wasn’t something we’d had before- it’s a creamy and delicate with an almost smoky flavour that complimented the sweetness from the pumpkin base really nicely.

Of course, you have to get a pasta ‘for the table’, so we got the gnocchi zucca. This was a seasonal delight; a pumpkin cream spiked with crude and luxurious stracciatella. It was such a silky dish and the fresh gnocchi was satisfyingly bouncy. As ever, the portion sizes are always ‘proper’ here. There’s no holding back and we’ve always left feeling happily satisfied…

…And not stuffed enough to not order a pudding. The panna cotta was everything we are looking for in a dessert. Creamy. Indulgent. Sharp with the berry sauce. It was so good and honestly, we regret sharing and not ordering individual portions. Don’t make the same mistake as us.

What a treat it was to be back- it was tricky to peel ourselves off the seat and leave, and it really is the kind of place that anyone and everyone would love. Which is why it lends itself so well to party season. They’ve got a space in the back which seats up to 35 people and it would be perfect for a Christmas booking. There’s a festive menu, it’s seasonally decorated (mini Christmas trees on every table!), the beautiful sky light, fairy lights… It’s cosy, intimate and just the right tone for a relaxed, merry gathering. Move fast to get your booking in here, we’d imagine these spaces will disappear as fast as Santa down a chimney.

And for even more merriment: to celebrate their 2nd birthday we are running a competition with them where you could win a meal for 2 and a bottle of wine up to the value of £100! Head over to our instagram page for the full details. Good luck, and happy birthday Lievito Madre!