Celebrating special occasions with Nonna’s (at home!)

Nonna's Antipasti platter for 2 with a glass of rose wine
I’ve featured Nonna’s twice on my blog before, in fact it was the last place we went to before lockdown (read: The Last Brunch at Nonna’s, Woburn Sands), but I had mentioned the fabulous shop and traybakes. Damien, Amanda and the team have been amazing during this time, looking after the community and providing such wonderful service. The incredible offerings extend to producing brunch boxes on ‘National Best Friend Day’ and creating bespoke anniversary packages – a fabulous three-course meal so that you can enjoy that special Nonna’s experience in the comfort of your own home.

Last Friday marked a year to the day that Ash proposed and as we’ve been house-bound for months, I wanted to do something special to celebrate – and Nonna’s were the first restaurant I could think of. After enquiring on Facebook, I emailed the team at Nonna’s and Amanda was so helpful, devising a menu for us. I’d like to point out that we have no dietary requirements and eat anything, so I could be super flexible, but also let Nonna’s guide us in terms of suggestions. Of course, if that isn’t you, they are normally great at accommodating and you could request something in particular. You could even add a bottle of wine or fizz to your package – the shop is very well-stocked… heaven!

I arranged delivery, rather than collection – and there’s a £5 charge to Newton Leys. I’m not entirely sure on the delivery radius and individual charges – and I couldn’t even say what time delivery runs from and until, but I requested 7pm. Our fabulous delivery driver arrived on time, and he was so friendly and lovely.
But let’s get stuck into the food…
Nonna's Antipasti platter for 2
Starter: Antipasti platter for 2
Everyone knows I love a picky starter and I’d never had the Nonna’s antipasti platter before. There was so much food – plenty for two. Slices of sourdough, marinated olives, sundried tomatoes, ricotta-stuffed peppers, a selection of cheese and cured meats. I love antipasti too – and this totally didn’t disappoint. I’m sure there were slices of my favourite cheese – Port Salut – on there, and of course the sourdough is always excellent. I presented it on my beautiful serving platter (TK Maxx), but we both just dug in and threw everything onto our starter plates!
A plate of pasta bake with freshly grated pecorino cheese
Main course: Pasta Alla Nonna
Nonna’s traybakes have served many during lockdown, and Alla Nonna is on their usual restaurant menu. Again, there was so scrimping on portion size – the traybakes usually cost £18-20 and serve 2-3, but in our case, they served 4-5. Generally, at home, I cook 50-75g pasta per person. Anyway, I have no idea what kind of pasta it was, but it was cooked with pancetta, chicken, mushrooms, plenty of garlic and herbs, in a tomato ragu.

I put the traybake in the oven on 160C fan for about 15-20 minutes to heat it through, and upon serving, topped with some freshly grated pecorino (we had parmesan too, but that wasn’t open). Alfie interrupted our dinner date and made himself at home at the table, eating off Ash’s plate, so I can safely say the pasta was a hit with all three of us. The sauce was just so flavoursome without being too rich. And while I’m not always tolerant to white pasta, I felt fine all weekend. I would definitely order more traybakes.
A slice of homemade white chocolate and orange cheesecake
Dessert: White Chocolate & Orange Cheesecake
After a little breather and some more pink prosecco, it was time for our dessert. We were given the option of cheesecake or upside-down cake and I was happy to be flexible, depending on which fruits were available – because I absolutely love both and am definitely too indecisive to choose between two desserts like that.

The cheesecake was absolutely delicious, which totally surprised me as I don’t like chocolate orange (well, I like Jaffa Cakes, but don’t like Terry’s or any of the orange-flavoured chocolates in Christmas chocolate tins). The flavour was so subtle and not too rich or overwhelming. There was a biscuit base, with a chocolate layer, then a cheesecake layer topped with orange glaze and decorated with white chocolate drops. It was heavenly.

Once again, the traybake was huge. The cheesecake came in the same sized container as the pasta bake and I honestly wasn’t expecting to see a whole square cheesecake. I cut it into eight slices, which were still massive, cutting one in half again so Alfie could try some (a sixteenth would have been too small for me!), so we had cheesecake on Saturday and yesterday too (and I gave a slice to my neighbour). 

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At £40 (minus delivery), the Nonna’s at Home Anniversary Package was excellent value for money – especially when you consider the cost of the traybakes individually and the amount of food we had between two (well 2.5). Everything was delicious and the service at Nonna’s is always second-to-none. You can tell that they love food and love looking after their customers. I’m hoping that next time, we are able to dine in the restaurant or the brasserie!

Keep up to date with what’s going on at Nonna’s via Facebook or Instagram – there are updates every day/most days. But I’ll always recommend Nonna’s – whether it’s for brunch with friends, a Sunday roast with the family, or celebrating a special occasion (like an anniversary!).

Thank you Damien, Amanda and Team Nonna’s!

Love, Lucy xx

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Love, Lucy xx

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