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222A Kilburn Lane Queen’s Park London, W10 4AT Tel.: 020 8969 9853

Ida Restaurant is the trading name of Artis Mensa Ltd. Company Reg. No 11340596

Dear Ida friends, As you know, in spite of no clear instructions from the government, we chose to shut Ida last Monday, 16th of March, because it seemed reckless to do otherwise. We understood people’s need to gather together in a time of crisis, yet, knowing what is happening in Italy and in other countries around the world we couldn’t allow Ida to become, however unwittingly, a hub for the virus. Our plan was to continue to serve you by operating a minimal takeaway service, but, after yesterday’s announcement this no longer seems the right thing to do. Every single delivery or member of staff entering and exiting our premises carries its own set of risks, one which we are simply not prepared to pass on to you. All of us have to play our part in the national effort to contain this virus and protect our team, guests and local community. I feel that the safest place for all of us is at home with our families reducing the chance of adding to the burden on our NHS, and it is for this reason that our chefs too have chosen to remain at home. Nothing about this time makes sense, so all we can do at any given time is what feels right to us as individuals and as a society. Whilst Ida is closed, we are looking at various ways in which we can continue to serve the more vulnerable in our community, and look forward to seeing you again in happier times. We will never forget the kindness and support you have shown us, Simonetta and Avi

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About Us Ida is a neighbourhood restaurant in Queens Park. Situated in a pretty, grade II listed cornershop, it offers home-cooked Italian food six days a week to hungry locals and regulars.  Almost uniquely in London restaurants, Ida’s pasta is made freshly every day and rolled entirely by hand. A dying art even in Italy, hand-rolled pasta is infinitely superior to anything produced by a machine, as its rougher texture traps  and holds sugo on to its surface. Ida is owned and run by a husband and wife team, Simonetta and Avi, whose Italian roots are Tuscany and Le Marche, respectively. While neither had any experience in the restaurant business, (Simonetta is a novelist, while Avi is an engineer) , Avi, in particular grew up in a family where food is sacrosant; indeed many of the dishes at Ida - in particular the hand-rolled pasta - were learned by watching his mother and aunts in the kitchen! Our customers tell us that eating at Ida is like being transported to Italy for a few hours; while our relative innocence regarding the London restaurant scene means that we cook for our customers as though they were guests in an Italian home!  In the seven years we have been open, we have celebrated the weddings, engagements, christenings, birthdays and even book launches of our customers, many of whom are regulars along with their families and friends. Fay Maschler declared Ida “the ideal neighbour, not only to borrow a cup of sugar from, but to drop in on for a plate of hand-rolled pasta”, while Charles Campion calls it “a hidden gem”, naming it one of the top five London Italian restaurants in his 2009 guide.

Menu...

Parties...

News...

Cinema Ida...

CONTORNI Mesticanza di stagione £3.50 Mixed leaf salad with the house dressing Verdura del giorno £5.00Pan-fried vegetable of the day with garlic and olive oil Patate al forno  £3.50Special Ida roast potatoes with olive oil, garlic and rosemary

Wine List...

STARTERS Antipasto della casa (for 2) £14.00An Italian antipasto board consisting of  charcuteries; crostini with Provola and Neapolitan turnip tops;  a young, Tuscan mild Pecorino sheep's cheese from the Mugello valley; and Nocellara di Castelvetrano olives. Molinata £6.00Puglian broad bean and spinach dip (vegan) Gamberi in tegamino £8.50Baked wild shrimps with fresh tomatoes, tomato sugo, parsley, black pepper and melted cheese Impepata di Cozze £8.50Fresh mussels cooked in white wine, parsley, fresh tomatoes and black pepper, accompanied by a baked tarallo Pane, olive e olio d’oliva extra vergine £4.00Bread, Nocellara di Castelvetrano olives and extra virgin olive oil Crostone con julienne di zucchine e pinoli £6.00Grilled bread crostone with fried lemon-zest courgettes and pine nuts (vegan) La Frisella £6.00Twice-baked wholemeal frisella with baby buffalo mozzarella, Nocellara di Castelvetrano olive, baby vine tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil and basil.

Menu degli Amici...

SECONDI Bistecca di entrecote ai ferri con rosmarino e sale Maldon e contorno di patate novelle £18.00Premium grass-fed rib-eye steak with rosemary and Maldon salt, accompanied by new potatoes fried in butter Cacciucco Livornese  £16.50Tuscan fish stew with fresh seafood of the day, accompanied by a toasted garlic crostino

PRIMI Tagliatelle al ragù marchigiano  £13.00 / £8.00 Hand rolled tagliatelle with a slow-cooked beef, pork and chicken ragoût (tradition of the Marche region) Tagliatelle al ragù d’agnello £14.50 / £8.50Hand rolled tagliatelle with a hand-chopped lamb ragoût Scialatiello ai frutti di mare £14.50Scialatiello pasta with fresh seafood, vine tomatoes, white wine and  parsley Gnocchi pasticciati con ragù e panna £13.50 / £8.50Home-made potato gnocchi with beef and pork ragoût (tradition of the Marche region) and a splash of cream Gnocchi alla Norma £13.50 / £8.50Home-made potato gnocchi with fried aubergine, tomato, basil, garlic, parmesan and white goat’s cheese Tagliolini cozze e pecorino £13.50Hand rolled tagliolini with mussels and pecorino cheese Spaghetti alla Carrettiera £10.50A Sicilian dish of spaghetti with fresh tomatoes, chilli, oil, parsley, garlic, black pepper and pecorino cheese

Menu

About Us...

Parties at Ida Ida is the party venue par excellence. Since our inauguration in 2007 - in itself a day-long party! - we have played host to our customers’ milestone moments. These include christenings, weddings, hen nights, book launches, birthdays, anniversaries, and even family reunions from all corners of the globe. Once we receive a request for a party, we work very closely with our customers to ensure that we do everything possible to make sure things go as planned. This includes tailoring our menus to suit tastes, budgets and dietary requirements (including vegan, vegetarian and no pork) as well as providing reasonably priced children's menus which most emphatically do not incude chicken nuggets!

Roberto Benigni's “La Vita è Bella” (Life is Beautiful, 1997)

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Winner of: Cannes Film Festival Gran Prix and 3 Oscars

Sunday, June 24th, 5pm

News

Tickets are £45 pp and include a welcome glass of Prosecco and a three-course dinner

If you’d like us to let you know about upcoming events such as our monthly film club, you can subscribe to our mailing list. (We never share your address with anybody else!) and nor will we bombard you with emails.

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Join us at Ida for an evening of unforgettable Italian cinema, accompanied by a three course Tuscan feast, as we present 

Menu degli Amici

Pasta alla BoscaiolaPasta with ham, prosciutto cotto, basil and cream Pasta alla PizzaiolaPasta with a vegan sauce of fried tomatoes, marjoram, fresh oregano, shallots and extra virgin olive oil Penne all’ArrabbiataThe original "angry" pasta: penne with a fiery sauce of garlic, tomato, chilli and parsley Pasta al NeranoPasta with fried courgettes, lemon zest, garlic, extra virgin olive oil and parmesan shavings

An honest plate of pasta and a glass of wine for just £12!

SPARKLING WINE & APERITIVO Prosecco Superiore di Valdobbiadene 2018 Brut Col dè Salici - 11.5%(Eight times quality-price “Oscar” winner, Gambero Rosso ) Glass (125ml) £6.50Bottle (75cl) £32.00 ROSÉ Calafuria - Tormaresca 2018 I.G.T. - 12% Bottle (75cl) £24.90Glass (175ml) £6.00

WHITES House white: Pieno Sud, 2018, Sicily - 12% Glass (175ml) £5.501/2 Litre carafe £14.001 Litre carafe £26.00 Fiano di Puglia - 2018 I.G.T. - Codici - 12.5% Bottle (75cl) £27.00 Pinot Grigio Castel Firmian  2018 D.O.C.  - Mezzacorona - 12.5% Bottle (75cl) £29.00 Casal di Serra - Organic - Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi D.O.C. Classico Superiore  2017  - Umani Ronchi - 13% Bottle (75cl) £31.00 Gavi di Gavi  2018 D.O.C.G. - La Meirana - 12.5%  Bottle (75cl) £33.00

REDS House red: Villa Rossi Sangiovese IGT, Rubicone  2017 - Emilia-Romagna - 12% Glass (175ml) £5.501/2 Litre carafe £14.001 Litre carafe £26.00 NéPriCa - Primitivo from Puglia - Tormaresca I.G.T. 2017 - 13.5% Bottle (75cl) £29.00 Pèppoli Chianti Classico D.O.C.G. 2017, Antinori - 13% Bottle (75cl) £33.90 San Lorenzo Montepulciano Rosso Conero D.O.C. 2016, Umani Ronchi - 13.5% Bottle (75cl) £34.00 Vie Cave Malbéc Fattoria Aldobrandesca I.G.T. 2016, Antinori - 13.5% Bottle (75cl) £42.00 Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Tenuta Tignanello Riserva D.O.C.G. 2013 -  13.5% Bottle (75cl) £45.00

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Dessert Torta di mela alla Fiorentina con gelato
Home made  Florentine apple cake with double cream ice-cream

Presents Roberto Benigni’s “La Vita è Bella”  (Life is Beautiful, 1997)

"Life Is Beautiful" begins as the story of bumbling Italian waiter Guido Orefice (Benigni), set in Tuscany in the foreboding year of 1939 under Fascist premier Mussolini. Over in Germany, Hitler's trigger finger is starting to get itchy, but for the first half of the film the machinations of world politics are only a backdrop to the main event – Guido's comic attempts to woo his beloved, a schoolteacher named Dora (Nicoletta Braschi), away from her stuffed-shirt fiance Rodolfo (Amerigo Fontani).  Where "Life Is Beautiful" turns into something rare and extraordinary is not until midway through the film. Guido, who owns a small bookstore, and Dora have married and have a young son, Giosue (Giorgio Cantarini). There is a goose-stepping Nazi presence now in their Italian town, and signs have begun to appear in shop windows: "No Dogs or Jews Allowed." Guido, who we learn is Jewish himself, jokes to a perplexed Giosue that he might put up his own sign: "No Spiders or Visigoths."  Suddenly, the film shifts gears as the Orefices are arrested and sent to a concentration camp – even Dora, who is not Jewish, voluntarily agrees to follow her husband and child. Without warning, "Life Is Beautiful" morphs into a very different and more sober film as the comedy moves shockingly but surprisingly effortlessly into the world of the death camps, even as the transport train carrying Guido, Dora and Giosue is shown gliding into the darkened camp yard in a cloud of smoke.  It's a risky tonal transition, allowing Guido to continue to crack wise about the atrocities of the Holocaust as he struggles to shield his son from its harsh realities, but Benigni handles it deftly. How he accomplishes this abrupt miracle is by shifting the audience for his jokes about prison life from us to Giosue, making the camp and its officers look foolish not to make us laugh but to spare a loved one from trauma. The poignancy of a father's desperation to paint life's horrors as a game makes every gag sting, like laughter's salty tears flowing into an open wound.  In one bold stride, Benigni has set himself apart from the rank and file of funnymen, joining the elite class of clowns who know that humor and heartbreak are only a howl of pain apart." -The Washington Post

Starter Tris di Crostini toscani

Three sourdough Tuscan crostini with home-made chicken livers, cannellini beans with sage, and vine tomatoes and basil Nocellara di Castelvetrano olives Selection of cold cuts and salami

Purchase tickets here

Main Course Tagliatelle con pesto di cavolo nero
Hand-rolled tagliatelle with a home-made cavolo nero, basil, pine nut and almond pesto Insalata di rucola, pomodorini e parmigiano Wild rocket salad with vine tomatoes and  parmesan shavings

CINEMA Ida

Sunday March 25th, 5pm

Sunday December 9th, 5pm

Sold Out

Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Cinema Paradiso” (1988)

Join us at Ida for an evening of unforgettable Italian cinema, accompanied by a three course Sicilian feast, as we present 

Sunday, May 20th, 5pm

Dessert Cassata al Forno  Baked cassata tart with ricotta and dark chocolate

Starter Caponata Siciliana A classic Sicilian dish of tomatoes, aubergines, courgettes, raisins, capers and pine nuts, accompanied by a sourdough olive oil and garlic crostone  Nocellara di Castelvetrano olives Selection of cold cuts and salami

Main Course Tagliatelle alla Norma The Sicilian classic, (supposedly named after the opera "Norma" by the Catania-born composer Vincenzo Bellini), with fried aubergines, tomatoes, basil and ricotta salata, Insalata di finocchio con arancia e olive nere Fennel salad with black olives and orange 

"This is only the second feature for writer-director Giuseppe Tornatore, known for documentaries and TV films, but he has plugged into something vital about the hold movies have on us. Set in a small village in postwar Sicily – before TVs and VCRs – the film re-creates a time when people gathered in shoe-box theaters, like this village's Cinema Paradiso, to watch flickering images that could conjure up the whole world. Tornatore tells his story through the eyes of a fatherless eight-year-old boy named Salvatore, played by Salvatore Cascio, who persuades Alfredo (Philippe Noiret), the Paradiso's gruff projectionist, to take him on as an assistant. Noiret's beautifully modulated performance blends perfectly with Cascio's exuberance; they are both superb. For Salvatore, the outmoded projector, the frames of celluloid and the posters are all holy relics. Alfredo even permits his protégé to see uncut films before the village priest orders the excision of any glimpse of amore. Later, Alfredo urges the adolescent Salvatore (Marco Leonardi) to find a new life outside the confining village. The boy does so, and he never looks back. When the adult Salvatore (Jacques Perrin), now a film director in Rome, returns for Alfredo's funeral, the Paradiso is about to be razed to make way for a parking lot. Movies and the ways of seeing them have changed, and so has Salvatore, who seems detached until he receives Alfredo's legacy – a gift too surprising to reveal – which finally allows Salvatore to weep for his loss. Tornatore's sublime film makes it tough not to join Salvatore. Movie lovers will lose their hearts to Cinema Paradiso, not out of nostalgia, but for Tornatore's vigorous demonstration of the enduring power of dreams." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone Magazine

Presents Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Cinema Paradiso” (1988)

Sunday, March 15th, 5pm

Cinema Ida is delighted to present Pawel Pawelowski's Oscar-winning:   “IDA"

Join us at Ida for an evening of unforgettable cinema, accompanied by a three course feast, as we present 

"A novice nun journeys through her family’s secret past in Paweł Pawlikowski’s outstanding black-and-white drama"

Purchase tickets here

Cinema Ida is delighted to present Pawel Pawelowski's Oscar-winning: "IDA"

Tickets are £45 pp and include a welcome glass of Prosecco and a three-course Italian Feast!

“The Talented Mr Ripley”  (1999)

Sunday, August 5th, 5pm

Starter Crostini Tricolori Three Fabrique bakery sourdough bread crostini with: fried cauliflower; broccoli and toasted pine nuts; and heritage vine tomatoes with basil, garlic and extra virgin olive oil Nocellara di Castelvetrano olives Selection of cold cuts and salami

Dessert Sorbetto al limoncello con lingue di gatto
Home-made limoncello sorbet, accompanied by langues de chat biscuits

Main Course Lemon chicken with rosemary roast potatoes and fried artichokes Or Hand-rolled tagliatelle with fried artichokes (V)

Presents “The Talented Mr Ripley”  (1999)

Join us at Ida for an evening of unforgettable Italian cinema, accompanied by a three course feast

Presents “La Grande Bellezza”  (The Great Beauty) 2013

Oscar Winner Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

Starter Baked goat's cheese with Sicilian oregano, Red Romano peppers and tomatoes Nocellara di Castelvetrano olives Fabrique bakery sourdough crostino

Main Course Vincisgrassi Home-made lasagne from Le Marche - with a slow-cooked beef ragoût, béchamel and parmesan Or Lasagna ai Funghi (v) Home-made lasagne with wild mushrooms and champignons

Dessert
Ancient Roman baked ricotta and honey cheesecake with poached quince

Sunday, November 11th, 5pm

Sunday March 15th, 5pm

Sunday June 30th, 5pm

Our opening times Monday - Wednesday:  7.00 pm    Last orders 10.00 _________________ Thursday - Saturday:  6.45 pm Last orders 10.25

Finally, we would love your input as to what you would like us to cook over the next few weeks and which are the platforms you like to order takeaways from. Aside from our fresh pasta and gnocchi, would you like us to offer more fresh fish, meat and vegetarian options, along with soups and salads? And do you know of any vulnerable people who might be in need of supplies? Please stay safe, and look forward to seeing you all again in happier times, Un abbraccio  Simonetta and Avi

Dear Ida family, It’s with a heavy heart that we announce we are temporarily closing our doors to the public as of today. We cannot in conscience continue to operate an open-door policy in these uncertain times, so we will work on developing a simple, cooked from scratch Ida delivery and collection menu over the next few days. This will consist of your usual favourites, as well as larger catering orders, or simply stocking your fridges and freezers for the weeks ahead. We have come to this difficult decision in order to try and protect you, our customers, as well as our team and our suppliers. Once our takeaway menu is set up, we will operate under the tightest of regimes, limiting contact with the public, and asking anyone who enters the premises for collection of food to have washed their hands and to maintain social distance.