Times are changing on Shirland Road. In the late 1990s, when your reviewer first moved to the area, the street was characterised by boozers and betting shops. Drugs were apparently rife. Slowly, but surely the area is gentrifying. Out with the old and in with the new. First came The Waterway. Much more recently, The Hero, a W9 version of Soho’s on-trend The Devonshire. In between, stands Da Daniela, untouched by all the upheaval. From the outside, it may not be much look at, but inside is a revelation. Your reviewer and his local dining comrades were left wondering why they had not previously visited.
Da Daniela aims to keep things simple. Its website says it offers “great Italian food in a homely environment.” It is hard to dispute this notion: keep it simple and do it well. Step inside and diners will be welcomed with a mixture of mismatched chairs, bric-a-brac, Italian art house movie posters and some wonderfully lurid artificial pink flowers. It shouldn’t work, but it kind of does. Menus come on laminated A3 bits of card. Dishes comprise conventional offerings such a spaghetti Bolognese and veal Milanese as well as an impressively extensive pizza menu. Conservative English palates are also catered for with the likes of fish and chips present.
Our group of four commenced with a garlic focaccia to share. It was light, not too greasy and happily heavy on the garlic. Having spent several recent holidays in Italy, this rendering was at least as good as those available on the continent. Mains comprised pizzas – all with different toppings – across the quartet. What impressed at Da Daniela was the quality of the base. Here, it was thin – as it should be, allowing the contents on the top to do all the talking. Whether meat, fish or vegetables, the pizzas certainly did. Daring combinations came off and ingredient choice was judicious. Both radish and pistachio (admittedly on different pizzas) spoke of enterprise and tropea onion (much prized by chefs in the know, we learned) of intelligent sourcing. Da Daniela confidently lays down the challenge to local favourite Le Cochonnet, in terms of candidate for best pizza in W9. It may also win the trophy for best tiramisu, upstaging the nearby Red Pepper with its less engineered and more authentic version.
If there was not enough to like about Da Daniela, then consider too that guests can bring their own wine. For this, they are charged a very reasonable corkage fee of £6.95. Add in two soft drinks, one focaccia, four pizzas and three desserts, and you still have change from £100. A bargain, particularly relative to competing nearby options. There is, we were told, also a brisk trade in their takeaway pizzas now that The Hero has opened a few doors away. Your reviewer’s only concern about Da Daniela is that it becomes too well known.