Strada, Heddon Street, W1: signs that the world economy is recovering.

I have got quite used to places being quiet at lunchtime, so a quick trip to Strada showed that either I had picked the most popular lunchtime venue, or maybe central London is recession-proof.
My colleague, who had taken me for lunch in Rouen, deserved a quick lunch before catching his train back to Paris. We only had a short time, so knowing that some of the lunch places in Heddon Street assume that nothing gets done in the afternoon, I opted for Strada. This is not somewhere I recollect going before. Essentially a formula Italian restaurant with all the usual stuff, but looking a bit upmarket, it attracts a big following. Had I known I was going there, I could have printed off a BOGOF coupon, but clearly this branch did not need them, unless the clientele were very discrete with their pages of A4.
A friendly greeter initially tried to put us next to the door, but we demurred for a more internal seat. By the time we left just after 1.30 (well within the time alloted to them), there was not a seat to be had. It is an attractive venue, easy on the eye, with a smart clientele at lunchtime http://www.strada.co.uk/italian-restaurant/heddon-street
I chose the linguine pescatore.(Linguine tossed with sautéed king prawns, squid, mussels and clams in a tomato, white wine, chilli and garlic sauce, but I asked for the mussels to be removed, because I do not care for them - this was no problem)

This was an attractive mix, enhanced by parmesan and some chilli olive oil which was on the table. No shortage of crustaceans. It was hot enough scoring 7.9 on the CHOF scale.If I had taken the picture more quickly, it might have been an 8.

There is no polite way that I have found to effectively eat prawns in their shells, so fingers are needed at some point. The clams were a little dissapointing, being either empty or very small inside. I should have known better. I would definitely recommend this choice as it was well cooked and very tasty. My colleague had the beef, done as rare as a Frechman would want. He thought it could have been better (and may be he should have know better). This is middle of the road stuff, like Carluccios, but better than Bella Italia. (I think I may have to rank them in good time). Staff were polite and fairly helpful, but I was struggling a bit here without a spoon. I finished with a cappuccino, which I know is not what an Italian would do. It is only the 8th of February but:

It was a small, somewhat powdery tasting brew which left a distinct feeling of lack of satisfaction. I was not fooled by the artistry, which may have been well meant, but I would have preferred them to put their effort into a good cup of hot coffee.