Spoiled myself a couple of days ago and headed to Café Paradiso for lunch ….hmmmmm…. The restaurant was quite at 12pm but the kitchen was already in busy getting ready for the day. I ordered avocado risotto with peas, spring onions and Oisin goats' cheese served with a lemon thyme dressing. The risotto was perfect…, the peas had a lovely crunch to them and the goats' cheese didn't overpower the delicate flavour of the avocado.

At one of the other tables, a woman ordered a summer berry pudding and it looked so summerly that I had to order one as well. The bread was thinly sliced so that the juices of the berries were able to soak into it. The berries themselves weren't overcooked but still had a bite to them (saying that, I believe the cherries were either frozen or from a tin - but that didn't disturb the overall flavour of the pudding at all). The pudding was served with a vanilla-mascarpone cream…..I think more cream than mascarpone but the vanilla came through delicately. The pudding was topped with some baby blackberries and strawberries….and indeed, I closed my eyes and found myself in the middle of summer…..until I opened my eyes of course ;-)

I know I keep repeating myself but Café Paradiso is indeed a paradise for vegetarians and carnivores…I have never left the restaurant unsatisfied….