Last week I went to dinner with some guys from work to a new place in Milton Keynes called Strada. Strada is located in The Hub, which is a new development within a square of restaurants behind the Jurys Inn hotel in Milton Keynes.
When I first walked into the restaurant, I noticed it had a lively, bubbly atmosphere. This was not a place to bring kids - even on a week day evening (good job i'd hired a babysitter!!). There was so much commotion, everyone seemed happy and lively, a great place for a meal in my opinion. We were seated on an small table, not much room, but loads of people around us, and straight away offered garlic bread an olives. We were starved, so jumped at the chance - they were complimentary so why not?! :-D
We ordered our wine first - bottles of Chianti, and the attentive waiter poured a little into my glass so that I could taste it. It was lovely - so he poured all of our glasses. We were then given ample time to chat and peruse the menu before being asked for our choices. I chose a Caprise (not sure of the spelling) salad for a starter and Salmon for my main course.
My salad included the most beautiful tasting Mozzarella I had ever tasted, so creamy and light, absolutely delicious, with fresh basil leaves that were a great accompanyment to the dish. When we had finished, the waiter (also Italian - by the way) cleared away our dishes and poured more wine (I don't actually remember any one asking for more - it just seemd to appear!). Every time someones glass seemed to get close to empty, there appeared our waiter with more wine to fill it - it was great!!
My salmon was cooked to perfection, with vegetables that were crisp and just perfect - not greasy, not dry. I was disappointed that the olives and garlic bread had been taken with the starter plates, but it was probably for the best - my stomach was full to bursting!!
Our bill came to approximately £40 per head which included never ending wine, free garlic bread and olives, and free mineral water. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to any group of young people going out for a good time - but think this would be too bustling an environment for a family with children.
Our waiter was fantastic, and the fact that we had a real Italian waiter in an Italian restaurant - a million miles from Italy - was the best touch ever. I had a great night out, and can't wait to go back. | 
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