La Gamba, Unit 3, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London SE1 8XX
(lagambalondon.com). Tapas £4.50-£15; large plates £19-£36; desserts £5-£7.50; wines from £27
La Gamba is the answer to an infuriating question, that question being: where can I eat before seeing a show at the Southbank Centre? There are, of course, restaurants in that part of London. There are rooms with tables and chairs where food will be brought to you in return for money. But it’s a bafflingly dreary proposition: there’s a Wagamama, a Côte, a Strada, a Giraffe, a Las Iguanas and so on. I have nothing against any of these, or at least nothing too spittle-flecked. Brands like this have their place. They do a job. It’s not always the most brilliant job. None of them serve the best version of the food they advertise. Nor is it cheap. But it is, I suppose, reliable. In a grinding, it-must-be-a-Thursday-evening-in-Guildford sort of way. This is not meant as an insult to all the valiant independent restaurants of Guildford. It’s meant as an insult to all the other ones.
