After my first London “football” game between Brazil and Russia at Chelsea Stadium, my work colleague recommended a small Italian place called Gola on Fulham Road for dinner. He knew the owner and since my colleauge was named Vicenzo, I trusted his judgment. After being frozen to the bone, I welcomed a warm place and was looking forward to great Italian food and wine. As we were seated, I knew we were in for a treat. My colleague and the owner slung Italian back and forth as I perused the menu. The owner suggested a wine from where he was from (Puglia) and it was really nice. He also recommend some appetizers and seamlessly attended to my gluten allergy and noted that he will make almost anything gluten-free. The eggplant and baked cheese appetizers were great and for a main I got a risotto with sausage and porcini mushrooms. My colleague ordered a veal Milanese which was the size of his head (not exaggerating). Since he was only midway through his dinner and I was still hungry, the owner whipped up something with fusilli, hard shaved ricotta cheese with some braciola. It was soooo good! A little limoncello and the meal was finished.
Great meal, service and atmosphere. Gola is a winner!