Lazy Sundays with a Touch of Italian - Rocca Di Pappa

Pescatore - fresh pasta with Fresh clams, cockles, wild mussels and a touch of chilli £8.95

London at it's best? The first basking of wonderously warm sunshine over the city with just just the slightest twinge of breeze to make life all that more bearable. And then it all goes downhill from there (there's that happy cynic in me resurfacing again!). But I stand by what I say. After that 1st day of lovely weather and happy Londoners .... the heat in the underground starts getting unbearable, you start to notice that the person whose armpit your faced is jammed into at rush hour has never heard of deodorant, then the train comes to a standstill in the middle of a long dark tunnel because some wise crack decided to steal the copper wire on which train tracks in Britain are so reliant on ....

Americana - pizza with Tomato, pepperoni and mozzarella £7.35

Alright, so there's me thinking that 11 years in this country has earned me a little bit of a right to have a right moan every now and then. But there truly are some lovely bits to this city. Like that first basking of warm sunshine with a light summer's breeze that allows for a lazy weekend's al fresco dinner.

Insalata - house leaf salad £3.25

I like Dulwich Village but it can sometimes be totally yummy mummy and happy daddy overwhelming for me. That and the very grown up £1million plus houses and the Land Rovers littered. It's still a nice place - it's what I aspire to when (if?) I grow up. Rocca on the main street adds a nice touch to Dulwich Village (it has an older sibling of the same name in Kensington, with a slightly larger menu and bigger price tags too). Think lots of warm, light woods with dashes of cream/off white and tarnished bronzes (another look I would love when I grow up and set up my million £ home complete with a lazy ginger tabby and slightly bonkers chocolate brown Lab).The staff are friendly, the food is very acceptable (stay off the bread though ... it was a tad doughy and heavy for my liking) and the prices are very reasonable. And best of all, for those balmy summer days there's outdoor seating out front or in the rear garden, as well as lovely big windows that open up in front of the restaurant.

Rocca Di Pappa
75-79 Dulwich Village, London SE21 7BJ