Simm’ é Napule, a traditional Italian family-run restaurant, has opened on Mitcham Road. Owner Enzo, his father Giuseppe, mother Nelly and sister Benedetta are excited to bring a taste of Naples to SW17!

The Vastarella family have taken over the site of the old La Cantinella restaurant and are keen to make their mark. “What we want people to have here is a rustic experience with fresh, homemade, hearty food served in a traditional Italian family atmosphere,” says Benedetta.

“Although we have a menu, we have different specials every day which we love our customers to try. Basically, when you walk through the door, Mum will tell you what to have! She cooks like she’s at home!”
 

“However, to think that Mum’s recipes now star in a family restaurant is so funny looking back. Mum met Dad when she was only 17 and he was 24. Dad had 6 sisters all of whom were amazing cooks and they used to wake up early each morning to visit the local market and pick the freshest ingredients to cook with that day. Mum couldn’t cook a thing but really tried and used to be so embarrassed when she burnt the broccoli and served Dad all sorts of barely edible meals! But it was true love for Dad – he ate every single thing he was served, kept encouraging and teaching her with the help of his sisters and now cooking is Mum’s biggest passion – to such an extent that she is now teaching Dad’s sisters new recipes! My Mum and brother, Enzo, now share the cooking in the restaurant.”
 

As well as the dishes on the menu, the specials change every day, and there are always meat and vegetarian options. On the day we visited, (Thursday), we had the choice of two meat dishes – Maccheroni Al Forno with Ragu Napoletana and Meatballs (with the tomato sauce slow-cooked for 6 hours) and Agnello Con Patate Al Forno (lamb chop with potato, cooked in the oven). Both were delicious! We were told that there will typically be two meat dish specials on offer on a Thursday, as traditionally only fish specials will be served on a Friday. Many of the pasta dishes use scialatielli, a Neopolitan pasta which is like a type of thick and short fettuccine or linguine.
 

As it is here in the UK, Sunday is a very important family day in Italy and the Vastarellas are very keen to make the restaurant a place for families to come and eat at any time, but especially on Sundays. “We would love local families to enjoy special meals at our restaurant. On Sundays, we always have a wide range of antipasti, pasta, meat and vegetable dishes available – these are suitable for all ages and all cooked in the traditional Neopolitan way – using plenty of aubergine, garlic mushrooms and mixed peppers,” says Giuseppe.
 

“Our family feels very at home in Tooting, as the town has such a strong sense of community”, says Giuseppe. “We really look forward to welcoming our neighbours to join us here at Simm’ é Napule!”

Simm’ é Napule is located at 249 Mitcham Road, Tooting, SW17 9JQ. They are open every day from 12 noon – 10.30pm. To reserve a table, please call 0203 689 7337.

You can also follow them on Instagram and Facebook.