Melange, Crouch End

Mothering Sunday only comes once a year, so I pushed the boat out and took my mum to Melange, a French/Italian restaurant in Crouch End. Normally I will only take her to Pizza Express, so she was over the moon. It's a nice little bistro that plays silent films on a big screen, plays distinctly French-sounding music, and has one of the greatest prosecco-heavy cocktail menus I have ever seen. 

Mum had the French 45, and I went for the Paris Lady. The thyme really worked well with the cherry flavour! 

For starters I had baked goats cheese on sourdough bread and mixed leaves, mum had crab. We both really liked these! 

For the main course I had one of the only two vegetarian options - ricotta ravioli. It was tasty, but nothing special. The other option would have been risotto, which is so bloody boring - why do you do this to us, meaty restaurants? Make veggie food more appealing! Mum loved her fishcake with spinach and new potatoes. She said it was all very fresh and delicious. 

We were way too full for dessert, not surprising with these generous portions. The service is friendly, and the cocktails are lush. But Melange is not special enough for vegetarians, and the place is way too cramped. Once it got busy, we were pretty much all sitting together, such was the tiny amount of space between tables. They also serve breakfast, and I think this could be a nice place to come for a leisurely brunch rather than a relaxing dinner. Mum was happy though, and that's all that mattered (only as it was Mother's day).