Sloaney night with old-school Italian
In Ann Barr and Peter York's Official Sloane Rangers Handbook, published by Ebury Press in 1982, under the heading Eating Out in London it states "You (Sloanes) like good value but most of all you like to see other Sloanes".
It goes on to recommend appropriate restaurants which include San Frediano (San Fred's), San Lorenzo, San Quintino and San Ruffilo.
All these Italian restaurants are - or were - on the South Kensington/ Knightsbridge axis and it is surprising that Sale e Pepe, now in its fourth decade of trading and only a few steps away from Harvey Nicks, was not on the list.
From the moment they enter to be greeted by long-serving maitre d' Tony with a snatch of an operatic aria, Sloanes feel as much at home in Sale e Pepe as on holiday in Chiantishire.
When waiters and customers burst forth with a rendition of Volare - as happened last Monday evening when we were there - the Sloanes join in, almost word perfect when it comes to the "Nel blu dipinto di blu" bit.
The restaurant, which originally occupied two shop fronts and then expanded into a neighbouring launderette, was refurbished this summer. It was so long ago that I was last there - proof is that, visiting for lunch with my sister, we were given 10 per cent off the bill for "being two pretty women" - that I can't accurately describe the decorative changes.
The menu is pretty much the unreconstructed Italian style where meat-based main courses encompass chicken, steak, lamb, veal chop, calves' liver and escalope of veal in several guises including with a sauce of cream, brandy and mushrooms.
There are dishes of the day, from which I chose rack of lamb coated in breadcrumbs. It came with a static brown sauce that brought to mind Tony Hancock's remark that at least his mother's gravy used to move about a bit.
Reg had another special, cod, which had an overpowering accompaniment of tomatoes, olives and capers. A selection of lacklustre vegetables - cauliflower, green beans and sautÈed potatoes - were brought unasked and charged at £3.50 each.
The pasta dishes were dramatically much better and I noticed that old hands - the ones who could manage the "Felice di stare lassu" line of Volare - tended to order pasta as a main course.
There was no time limit on our table announced when I booked, but three courses came and went in well under an hour.
The only thing that took a long, long time to arrive was a glass of tap water requested when our mineral water had run out. I was almost driven to saying "Who do you have to f*** round here to get a glass of water?" but I was nervous of being told.
Sale E Pepe
Pavilion Road, London, SW1X 0HD
