When it comes to Cape Town Italian restaurants, specifically pizzas and pastas I’m a snob. Yes I admit it, I’m a total pasta snob. Pasta needs to be cooked to perfection… al dente. Si! Not soft not raw but al dente… Throw it on the ceiling if you need to but make sure its right.

Il Leone must be one of the best Italian restaurants in Cape Town and one its best kept secrets. I first discovered this delightful little place on a business lunch – I.e. an excuse to escape the office, pretend to talk about important things and drink real Italian wine. Our waiter had an authentic Italian accent, a good sign until I spoke Italian with him and he stared blankly back at me – born and bred South African – our falso-italiano. He did however have an amazing talent at choosing our dishes for us; and choosing exactly what we wanted to order. For me he selected the Tagliatelle ai Porcini (yes- fresh porcini mushrooms in Africa!) in an olive oil and garlic sauce. The world around me ceased to exist – wow. All I can say is that it was perfetto. The perfect combination of flavour and texture and I even had some takeaways! He also chose the Penne Gamberetti and Scallopine di Vitello con Porcini (vealescalopes) for the others. Being the addict that I am I obviously sampled these too and have to admit that they also were fabulous. Il Leone definitely falls under my top restaurants in Cape Town for atmosphere and great food, and the Tagliatelle ai Porcini as one of my favourite dishes.

This quaint Italian restaurant is located in Green Point, not far from the V&A Waterfront and Beluga. The ambience is lovely – It’s cosy and quite smart, and always seems to be busy. They could also add a few cheaper wine options to the menu but otherwise its fabulous! Service is also great. I recently took my ladies there for our monthly girls night and by the end of the evening they all walked out converts. Our tradition is to explore a new restaurant or bar once a month and they’ve been begging to go back for seconds. Two dishes that also took my breath away in pure deliciousness were the butternut ravioli in a 4 cheese sauce and the giant artichoke and ricotta panzotti in a butter and sage sauce. Wine: we recommend the Italian Frascati. Absolute perfection and you don’t even need to go to Italy. This is definitely one of Cape Town’s best Italian restaurants!

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The Covent Garden in London is a very well renowned place for tourists. It is a great place to visit every year for spending vacations. It’s a great place for the things it has to give. The tempting food, places to visit, sights to see, music to hear, and the amazing people to share with are the things that makes it one of the best places to go to. It has more to give every time you visit the place.

Yes, there are more places to visit in the United Kingdom. But, this one has its own specialty. To prove that more than 45 million people give in to the eagerness to visit Covent Garden. And most of these people leave with joy in their faces after the tour. One of the best things to do while you are in here is to try eating the foods there. This place has got a wonderful mixture of different foods of different cultures and different cuisines.

The garden is teaming with more than 380 restaurants. These restaurants also cater for different occasions. There are loud and dazzling pubs and bars in here too for the people who are not used to having quiet dinner times.

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We are big fans of Pomegranate Cafe. They are located right next to Trader Joe’s in Ahwatukee, Arizona. They are also friends of ours.

Pomegranate was started by a mother and daughter team who both have a history of culinary training. They make a great team and they do a fantastic job.

With a focus on sourcing from local companies, they do a great job of supporting local farms. Most of their produce comes from farms that are located right in Arizona. The only exceptions are during the summer when it is way too hot for most of the farms near Phoenix to grow leafy greens. Then farms that are a little further away need to be sourced from.

When we were there I had their breakfast burrito. I’m a huge fan of the entire concept of the breakfast burrito and this one did not disappoint. I was a bit concerned that it may not be filling enough, but boy was I wrong.

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