An Italian dinner: fried whitebait, parma ham & rigatoni, veal and tiramsu

The girlfriend managed to bag a three-course meal for two people for just £28 from Groupon - bargain!  We obviously looked at some reviews first; the location was Il Castelletto - an Italian restaurant near Holborn, London.  It had some positive (albeit limited) feedback and we had the whole a la carte menu to choose from rather than being restricted to a set menu, so the deal looked worth trying.

I started off with deep fried whitebait, which is one of my favourites.  Deep fried fish - what's not to like? Il Castelletto's whitebait was not bad; it could have been a bit crispier, but still a good start.

Whitebait with tartar sauce.

The girlfriend went with the Amore Proscilitto Di Parma, which is rigatoni with parma ham and olives in a tomato sauce.  It received a solid report; well-cooked pasta, tasty sauce, nicely presented - and the parma ham worked well.

Amore Proscilitto Di Parma

Sadly, I really disliked my main - the Saltimbocca Alla Romana (veal with parma ham and sage).  It sounds really good on paper, hence why I ordered it, but it had an overbearing sickly sweet taste - almost candy-like.  It's difficult to describe, but I've not experienced that taste before.  I like sweet meats (Chinese char siu being a favourite), but this took it to another level.

Veal - too sweet!

Onto desserts, we got a generous-sized tiramisu.  I'm not a tiramisu fan, so I'm yet to taste one that I would describe as spectacular, but this one was at least on a par with most others I've tasted - so no complaints.

For £14 per head, I'd definitely consider it again (even with the sickly sweet veal) and it's ideal if you're in London and looking for a place to meet friends after work.

I'm not sure if the deal is still available, but keep checking Il Castelletto's page on Groupon if you're interested in the deal we got.

Closest station: Holborn