Food Rodells amazing variety of tapas-style portions
Rodells I
t’s difficult to find somewhere good to eat in Watford. It just has one of those high streets that has been taken over by fast food places, burger-and-a-beer bars or run of the mill chain restaurants you’ve eaten at a hundred times before. I’m sure I will be forgiven for thinking, when a friend told me to try Rodell’s, that it would be nothing out of the ordinary. In fact it was possibly the restaurant’s astonishing ordinariness that made it so spectacular. The small, family-run business sits in a house on the corner of a quiet crossroad in the heart of Watford town. And yes, I truly mean a house. After being invited in through the front door I entered the living room: a bijou bar decorated simply, with quirky signs and rustic wooden counters. A lady, whom I can only assume is the owners wife, apologised that Mario, the chef, was still printing off the menus and encouraged me and my plus-three to follow her to our table. Leaving the bar with our drinks, we were surprised to be taken upstairs to a would-be bedroom. A whitewashed room boasting little more than a few wooden tables, a sofa and the film Rango silently projected onto the wall – a fun oddity I’m still not quite sure of the reason behind. 28 Optima December 2014
The menu itself, I was delighted to find, was an eclectic pick ’n’ mix style list of tapas portions from all over the world. Starting with a warming baked Camembert and bread, we moved on to argue over which dishes we were going to choose for our main course. To save us from what could have been hours of deliberation the young waiter offered to bring us the best dishes as a surprise. We eagerly accepted.
Words and photography by Megan Danskine
A short time later the food arrived. Particularly gorgeous were the Pulled Pork Baos: mini folded pittas stuffed with delicious pork and sweet chilli sauce. The Sushi-Style Mac ‘n’ Cheese was an interesting take on the traditional dish. The bite-sized pieces were gone almost before they were laid on the table. Sharing portions like these are usually enjoyed through picking over light conversation, but this was one of those meals where you sit back from your empty plate, sigh, look at the clock and realize the food only arrived fifteen minutes ago. Nothing could be faulted. Overall it was Rodells’ strange but charming mix of personal atmosphere, a restaurant in the bedroom and an almost randomly picked range of dishes that I found winsome. I highly doubt it’s a combination you will find anywhere else around the whole of London, let alone clapped-out old Watford.
For more information please visit: www.itsrodells.com Reservations: 01923 229899
Homely Rodells