Pizza, Pizza, Pizza and Pasta

I'm a carbs kind of girl. There's no way around that. It's just a fact. Mashed potato is my go-to comfort food. Pasta is my go-to quick and simple dinner dish. Pizza is my favourite take-away! So yeah, carbs are definitely my friends (though my waistline probably - definitely - disagrees)

Amongst the plethora (oh damn that's a good word) of new restaurants to join us in Southampton is L'Osteria*, which is the home of pizza and pasta.
It's the second one of it's kind for the UK, with the first in Bristol, and we Sotonites (is that a word?) are very happy to welcome them to our sunny city!

OK so let's talk about the decor - honestly my photos don't do the place justice because it is beautiful and feels really authenticly Italian, especially with the little pieces of Italian dotted around, and the clever partitioning of the room. The space is across two huge floors and an upstairs outdoors terrace which gives amazing views over Westquay South. 

Also these mirrors created the perfect illusion of even more space whilst making dining feel even more private which I think is great, particularly if you have children who make a mess and are noisey. I feel like our dining wouldn't be as impactful on other diners which always makes dining out a happier and less stressful experience.

Right, the pizza! The best pizza I've had,and I've had some damn good pizza. The official seal of approval came from Henry, who ate the whole lot that we gave him (torn off corners from our pieces, not an entire slice as they are HUGE) and didn't drop any of it, which really says a lot as he's messy and BLWed. The pizzas to order are 18", so absolutely massive and honestly I could never eat one to myself, but they offer a half and half pizza of any two of their toppings, so sharing is made super easy. We're definitely doing this the next time we visit!

Upstairs we got a selection of canapes, including the most beautiful ham ever! Wafer thin, I could have eaten it ALL day! 

Thisphoto is a tad blurring as I'm on the other side of a window, but the bubble machine brought in especially for the launch was very popular with a certain little boy. It's often pretty difficult doing restaurant reviews with a baby as they get bored so easily, but the L'Osteria staff were so so helpful and accommodating, and the bubbles were a big hit!

For our mains we decided to try a salad and a pasta! And OMG were they good! I had the Conchiglie Granchi di Fiume which is fresh pasta, crayfish, carrorts, zucchini, onions and lobster sauce. Honestly it was the best pasta I think I've ever had outside of actually being in Italy. Dann had the Insalata Manzo which was mixed salad, beef fillet strips, mango, spicy orange and ginger dressing. He adored the dressing and found it really refreshing. 

Unfortunately we couldn't stay for dessert as we had a sleepy child to get home, but if you check out Sotonbloggers or L'Osteria on Instagram you may well find some of the amazing desserts. I'm definitely going back to try the Chocolate Souffle with Mango Sorbet! 

Basically we've found our new favourite Italian restaurant, and we love that it feels really authentic, especially as we love Italy so so much. 

For their full menu and booking details, see their website. 

*meal and drinks provided on a press/influencers night, in exchange for social coverage and review. All opinions are of course my own.