REVI EWS
RESTAURANTS
Prego
4 High Street
Buckingham
Tel: 01280 821205
M
ost people would walk by and
never even notice that it was
there! But when I arrived at
what I thought was this quaint, tiny little
Buckingham Italian hole-in-the-wall, I
soon discovered that like the clown cars at
the circus, this place is bigger on the inside
than the out.
Settled into one of the back rooms truly
reminiscent of a scene from the movie
The Godfather, right down to the horrible
background music, my ‘associates’ and I
placed our orders.
The staff were so cordial and offered to
bring the bottle of wine before I got my
meal. It made me wonder if they were
trying to soften me up early for the bill.
My appetiser consisted of sautéed
mushrooms (£2.95), a main course of
Pollo e Chorizo Penne (chicken and
chorizo with mixed peppers in a tomato
and garlic sauce) (£11) and a bottle of
Reserve Shiraz, Tooma River, Warburn
Estate (£18.95). We skipped dessert.
When my appetiser arrived, it was nice
and hot. The mushrooms were cooked
to perfection, with a nice little salty pop.
They disappeared so fast that I nearly ate
the plate.
Then the mains arrived, no delay, and I
dug in right away. The chicken and chorizo
were wonderfully seasoned and tender.
And while the penne wasn’t perfecto, it
Persico Italian
Restaurant
Hertford Road,
Enfield, NW4
Opening hours: 6pm-12pm
I
f you work in North London and
thought you couldn’t throw a cannoli
and hit a decent Italian place that
would be a pleasurable experience, think
again!
Persico brings an old school Italian
authenticity to the high street and all
with a warm-hearted welcome, that’s like
opening the doors to a restaurant in the
mountains of Palermo.
Persico is well placed just to the side
of the high street, so parking is never an
issue. As you come in, you immediately
12•FAN FA R E JUNE 2 0 1 4
was bathed in a delicious tomato sauce
that danced all way to my tummy. The
best I’ve had in Buckingham! Or maybe it
was the wine?
While I wouldn’t give Prego a 10 out of
10, it comes darned close. For quality of
food, price, service, and given its location
in little ol’ Buckingham, I’d definitely rate
the place a solid 7.5.
By the way, I love The Godfather and
the only thing missing were Don Corleone
and the wise guys. But at Prego’s joint,
someone getting whacked is strictly
optional.
Damian Wilson
get a homely feel as you are met by Vito,
the old, white-haired, Sicilian patron with
a smile and a bone -crushing handshake.
The deep fried seafood platter at £16 is
definitely the ‘piece de resistance’, a truly
stunning fresh seafood, perfectly cooked
alongside a pesto dressing. The size of the
portions are generous, with salmon, cod,
prawns, scallops all sitting on a plate at
the mercy of your fork.
And the waitress with a distinctively
soft Italian accent, delivers swift, quality
service, while always displaying a touch of
Italian elegance.
The gentle, Italian music adds to the feel
of having a walk-on part in The Godfather
movie – with the only offer you can’t refuse
being your inability to stay away from this
truly beautiful experience of rustic Italian
cuisine to die for.
MUSIC
The Pretty Reckless
Going to Hell
Razor & Tie
T
he tone of Going to Hell is nearly
as naked as its cover. The Pretty
Reckless sound is well hung over –
and not on substances.
This is a shell-shocked, stripped-down,
rock ’n’ roll vent session arising from the
ashes of the band’s very own modern day
hell.
Taylor Momsen, the 20-year-old sultry
lead singer, invites you on a sacrilegious
trip through what she refers to as “our sins
as a society”.
And there’s something intoxicating
about lead guitarist Ben Phillips’s fast
paced riffs laced with Momsen’s own
seductive brand of sleaze.
The title track wastes no time issuing the
band’s grievances – referencing in a riffheavy blitzkrieg devastation of the band’s
gear and near-completed recordings
caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
“Out of tragedy came that song,” said
Momsen, who wrote it as the band struggled
to regain their footing. “It pretty much
summed everything up [about the album].”
This theme carries straight into the
subsequent track, Heaven Knows,
which finds Momsen and a chorus of
schoolchildren summoning a bleak
mantra inclusive of the in X