Small & Beautiful

Sunday evening, I step inside. Warm ambience. Mellow Italian music. Wonderfully welcoming staff usher me in and serve me the house white. Sunday roast — beef — in a word: perfection.
I loved every second of my experience. Highly recommended.

I went in by myself around 6:45 pm for dinner after a 10 hour flight from San Diego. Seated at a small table for two I felt comfortable dining alone and chose the two course dinner special. There are many choices but being vegetarian I chose the portobello mushroom appetizer and the cannelloni. Both were really tasty; the cannelloni comes out steaming hot in a just baked one size portion. Being from Chicago originally I had to order the tiramisu which I’m sure tastes fine although I prefer more creamy versions. All in all, friendly servers, they don’t rush you, and the food is good.

Wonderful dinner, especially for the price. We got the pollo alla greko, the rice was light and fluffy, very well done. Also had the puffy duck which was duck in a puff pastry, also delicious.

I had breakfast there, it was really nice and the prices were amazing :) so you must try

Even though this restaurants menu is written slightly in incorrect Italian, it has enough sophistication and great food for affordability that Italians can turn a blind eye. This is one of the first restaurants that I went to in Kilburn, and I can honestly say that I do not attend enough. They normally have creative dishes which work well with flavours. I do you an injustice and I promise to return soon.

Great place to eat and must visit whilst in Kilburn, great service and the prices are great, went here for a catch up with some old work colleagues and will 100% be coming back

I can honestly say that was the best veggi canelloni I have ever had. The tomato sauce has killed any other for me; it’s piquancy was exquisite! The perfect balance!
The house red was really good — a fruity to medium Italian with a lovely almost toffee flavour on the palate. The staff were lovely; not too in your face and gave you space.
Will definitely be back… from Devon. if only to sample the rest of the veggi menu and the desserts. A real jewel of a find and incredibly reasonable prices… get yourself along there.

I thought this a pub or café. with some two seater tables and then some couch lounge seating. Yeah, i had this whole layout planned in my head just from sneaking glances through the window… from a moving bus… before I even walked in.
But it was proper restaurant seating, oops. I felt a little awkward coming in by myself with the original intention of sitting on a couch reading a book and eating some brekkie on a coffee table.
But they brought me to a two seater flanked by full tables on either side. «scuse me, pardon me, sorry, thanks»
Ordered the full english and for some reason I didn’t ask to substitute the beans like I usually do. Maybe I’m slowly evolving into a Brit because it was good this time. They salted the shite out of everything but it was tolerable. Especially on my portabello that was an awesome alternative to the usual pile of canned mushrooms.
They are trying to make them selves higher end fancy for the lower income crowd. Lots of course meal deals. I think sometimes they have two course for 5 pounds? What are you serving exactly?
Im with Steph C on this one. The breakfast menu was meh but the dinner options looked interesting.

I LOVE this place. The food is great, and the ambiance is quietly romantic and sophisticated compared to other restaurants in the area. My favorite place for a quiet date.

I live in West Hampstead and this little gem of an eatery at the top of Kiilburn is one of the best. My partner and I often go and eat there on a Friday or Saturday evening and have always found the food very good with lots to choose from. We have both tried several different dish’s starters & mains and really cant’ decide with is a favorite as everything is excellent. It is a quirky little place, very busy but comfortable, staff are lovely which is very important. It is a great place to go and I would highly recommend it. You can take a chance and just turn up but we always book a table to be sure as to get seated because as I said it does get very busy… try it I’m sure you will love it as much as we do…

I live nearby and have now eaten in this place five times over the past year. At its best, it’s cheap and tasty. At its worst, it’s still cheap and tasty, but it’s spoiled by not just poor service — but horrifically bad service. On Saturday night for example, we booked a table and turned up an hour later (on time!) to find it had been given away. Having been offered some complimentary drinks whilst we waited, we were happy — only to find them added on to the bill at the end of the meal with the manager having no recollection of having offered them whilst we waited! A large side order of amnesia perhaps!
Aside from this, the service is generally harsh at best. All of the tales of incorrect orders, surly service, and generally brusque behaviour are sadly true.
So, it’s cheap and cheerful, but even the cheerful is hit and miss. To be honest, I’d avoid it really. The Little Bay in West Hampstead offers a similar proposition but with cheap and genuinely cheerful service to boot.

My friends live just around the corner from Small & Beautiful and they have decided to become regulars. I went for breakfast, and apparently dinner is better. The dinner menu did look interesting, and the prices very reasonable. Breakfast was decent, but nothing more.
The breakfast menu is simple and straightforward, as well as rather limited. Every offering except for good old jam and toast involves eggs — breakfast sweet tooths should stay at home. I ordered the scrambled eggs and mushrooms, which came with toast and sliced tomato. It cost £4.25 and was no more and no less than what it sounds like. It was rather delicious, as eggs and mushrooms with ketchup always are. I also tried the £5.25 scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, and the mushroom scramble was much better. The salmon was very fishy and overpowering. Picky Matt B. stuck with buttered toast and jam. This cost £2.50, which wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but the jam came in a packet.
Small & Beautiful did deliver on atmosphere, as I enjoyed the cute space and cozy environment. Service was also friendly enough, if a little quiet — one man ran the whole show. I enjoyed my mushroom scramble and if this place were in my neighborhood, I’d come back again. I’d also be curious about dinner.

This review really deserves 3.5 stars But i’m just rounding up for good measure.
The place was pretty much empty when I was there, except for 2 men about to leave.
The wait staff were adorable and helpful and really nice.
I had the duck puff was like yesterdays baked duck in a puff pastry with some greens thrown in there with gravy poured on top. Sounds gross doesn’t it. But it was actually pretty freaking good. The gravy had me reeling. It was honestly the best gravy I had ever had. I’m no connoisseur of gravy either. I normally hate all forms of gravy. But this time, oh dear lord. Help me. I may have just gone on to the dark side, dark side of gravy that is. I’m a fan now!
I also had the chips, they were good. Nothing to write Unilocal about.
Had the house rosé and it was pretty darn good too.
did i mention all of this was under 9 pounds.
So final. go. give it a try. Its pretty decent for the price.

A gem on the High Road. Super fresh ingredients, exquisitely flavoured. Crab meat starter was refreshingly spicy, sea bass main was deliciously light (though I think I’ll ask if they can fillet it next time — I’m terrible with bones). Plenty of knick-​knacks decorate the interior in a cosy fashion.

A nice little bistro — nothing terribly sophisticated about the food although the mains are very hearty, homely dishes — there are always a whole raft of specials to choose from if you don’t like the regular menu too.
As others have said the décor is really quirky, and the staff couldn’t have been attentive enough I have to say.
Recommended

Small & Beautiful was the first restaurant I visited after moving to Kilburn and remains one of the best finds since.
It is extremely cosy, but this makes it ideal for a group meal — book in advance as it’ll be busy — in one of two quirkily decorated rooms.
Candle lit and warm, the restaurant is perfectly placed next to Brondesbury Station, making it easily accessible from the north end of the High Road.
There is a small range of food on offer, but this does not detract from the dining experience.
The food itself is great value, but the staff could be a little friendlier and efficient!

If Michelin star restaurants were cheap, this is probably what they would taste like. Great food at zero prices (starters £2.75 — £4.00, average main £7). Great place to eat good food without losing your mortgage, get the grilled salmon, a bottle of house white and you’re sorted.

Tasty food in a tasteful eaterie, I was very happy to have followed up a friend’s recommendation to eat here.
Lots of happy looking diners inside and I could soon see why.
As Danielle has already said, the stuffed red peppers were lovely and the Tiger Island (large prawns and calamari with a spicy tomato sauce on a bed of mussels) was mouthwatering.
The service was brisk and efficient and the only downer was that I didn’t see a notice saying that they don’t seem take cards. This may well have been my fault though. The staff were easygoing about it and rather than having to do their washing up, they let me go and get some cash out to pay.
Great variety and value for money.

Two cozy rooms make up Small & Beautiful, a cherished local NW restaurant.
It’s decorated to be comfortable and funky with bare wood furniture and a nicely tiled floor. It’s bright in the day, but the rich colours on the walls and candles make it romantic after dark.
The food is a mix of Mediterranean dishes (mostly Italian). Prices are very reasonable. I like the sausage ring, and their smoked chicken salad is nice. Nice bistro food and good service in a neighbourhood atmosphere and low prices: it’s hard not to like it here.
Note that there are some similarly-​named restaurants in other parts of London; this one is on Kilburn High Road, near the train bridge.

Small and Beautiful, which is a partner restaurant to the Little Star (in Willesden Green) serves more or less the same kind of mixture of British, modern European and Mediterranean dishes. The dishes are quite tasty, with Baked Red Peppers stuffed with feta cheese also being my favourite dish here. The chicken florentine is also appetising. Special offers include a 2 course lunch for £5.50, which is definitely a snatch! The candle decorated and dimly lit Small and Beautiful is preferable (to its sister restaurant) for those preferring a more intimate and relaxed atmosphere within which to dine in.