Wembley Park is awash with (over priced) chain restaurants. It has a few independents, paying ridiculous rents and taxes and finding it difficult to make a living.
I’m in a partnership running a community cafe in Wembley and know only too well how hard you have to work to make a decent living and so whenever possible I like to support local, small eateries.
Eccola is a simple cafe that has no pretentions to be anything other than a modest eatery serving breakfasts, sandwiches and a range of pizzas and pasta dishes.
On this occasion I fancied a pizza and salad, my friend the spinach and pesto pasta (£6.50) and we shared a Greek salad (£4.50).
I ordered a glass of the house white at the very civilised price of £4 for a medium sized glass. I’m fed up to the eyeballs at having to pay over £8 for a very average wine in London.
I ordered the ‘Bianca”, a pizza with prosciutto crudo and the additional toppings of mushroom, onion and jalapeno pepper (£8). An enjoyably thin crust was topped with a generous array of the requested extras and the heat was perfect. Tangy, cheesy and just really rather good.
The pasta also surpassed my expectations; it was nicely coated with the pesto, the balance of flavours was very good and it was perfectly al dente.
The salad was fresh, the feta generous and I was given oil, vinegar and lemon to dress the salad myself.
The staff, I’m happy to add, were a delight. Smily, obliging in every way and the service was very fast.
The wine was decent plonk and at the end of the day that’s what you want, isn’t it? Nothing fancy, just honest food at an honest price served with a smile.
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