10 Feb 2009

I have written the report about the descriptin of two places, we chose an italian retaurant "Amici" and an italian cafe, here is the writing:


Amici” in “Nero Caffe”

Amici, friends in Italian and as the name announced, it’s an Italian restaurant. It is situated on Holloway road in front of Nags Head shopping centre. I heard about it, its nice food and good prices and that twice attracted me because of my preference of Mediterranean food.

From the first look, I didn’t like the sign which was a very simple one where the name of the restaurant was written in blue on a yellow background. What an amazing combination of colours that was out of my expectations!!

Once into the place, I liked it. Walls were painted on red and white which fitted to the white tablecloths and the red napkins. Many landscape boards were hanged up, big pots of plants were placed everywhere and flower vases were put on some tables, that fills you with excitement and makes you feel happy and healthier.

The music was played very low but I liked the choices, I was listening to some hits of Whitney Houston, Tony Braxton and Mariah Carrey. It was quite pleasant because they are my favourite songs of these singers.

When I went to the toilets to wash my hands, I found them clean but at the same time very simple and sober , at my exit, I saw in front of me some children’s chairs that I appreciated.

After having the menu, I have chosen a seafood pizza with prawns, smoked salmon and tuna despite its inconvenient price, telling the truth the pizza was delicious, the dough was thin and it was baked on wood fire. When the waiter brought the bottle of water, we have remarked that even this little bottle was from Italy, moreover, a man entered and put the delivery on a chair and then stayed to eat a pizza ( I think he was Italian also), the waitress began to empty the small boxes which contained special Italian desserts that came from there (What a surprising thing that makes you feel in Italy and let you trust that you taste the real Italian meals).

At lunch time, it was quite empty but there were different kinds of people: Families, friends, couples. I focused on the waiter who was wearing a pink shirt and black trousers. He is a young white boy, with spiky black hair, he is slim and looks with his white shoes and surly face that was rarely interrupted by a short smile like a member of a mafia (and if I was right, maybe he was hiding his identity!!)

At the end, the bill spoiled my happiness, it charges us an optional gratuity but which was added and included on the total. It was really unpleasant so finally I thought it wasn’t worth the time and the price.

After that, destination to the nearest cafe that carries the same name, same sign and same colours. When I entered, I looked around but I didn’t find it friendly, it looked sad even the ceiling was deteriorated, with some dark spots. There were many pictures of cups of coffee. In one corner, they sale different kind of pasta and canned tins. The place was strange for me and I have decided to change it, so I went discovering the shopping centre.

The final choice was “CAFFE NERO” which means the black coffee, by chance it was Italian too. I absolutely loved the place because it sits in the shopping centre so it’s calmer. The first thing I saw at the entrance was the access for disabled even for pushchairs in order to avoid going down few stairs.

There, you can feel a warm ambiance communicated by garnet walls, wood chairs and slightly illuminated lamps. A big lounge, where two mirrors are hanged up, contains many tables, sofas and chairs. There were many Photography of Italian people who were playing cards, in fact Neapolitan cards are the most popular in Italy.

I wanted to try an Italian speciality so I took a “tiramisu” which is a popular cake layered with mascarpone cream cheese, it looks very sweet but it isn’t. The cafe serves many kinds of coffee (espresso, cappuccino, caffe latte, caffe mocha, hot chocolate Milano...) and also different types of pastries.

I liked also the music, a kind of pop soul music that reminds me of Tracy Chapman or Boyzone. The staff was so friendly and welcoming. I was impressed by this new discovery and I would recommend it.