Open lunch Mon–Sat midday–3pm; Dinner Mon–Sat 6pm–11pm; Sun closed
Nicola Batavia might not be well known here – yet – but he is a renowned TV chef in his home country, having made his name at Michelin-starred Ristorante Birichin in Turin. He has teamed up with restauranteur Paolo Boschi (of eponymous Da Paolo on Charlotte Street) for his latest venture on the former site of The Glass Room Restaurant.
The interior is understated and elegant with latte-coloured linen, stylish chairs, monochrome artwork by Italian cartoonist Osvaldo Cavandoli (of The Line fame) and plenty of natural light from the window-lined lantern roof. A jazz soundtrack adds to the romantic, intimate atmosphere. It was relatively quiet during our visit, but hopefully it’ll get busier as word gets out among the locals.
And word is that the food is excellent. Nicola focuses on fine, seasonal ingredients, perfectly executed. Warm homemade breads dipped in Nicola’s own-label olive oil and balsamic vinegar provides the perfect introduction while browsing the difficult-to-choose menu and the panzanella Italian bread salad was an excellent palate cleanser. The wine list includes plenty of well chosen regional Italian wines. We asked Paolo – who was utterly charming – to decide for us; a very good chardonnay from Piemont, Unisono 2009 (£26).
No wonder my poached egg with asparagus and crispy parmesan reserve (£8.50) is an award winner. The egg was cooked just so – perfectly runny – and the asparagus, presented in cross-section, added texture. My friend’s generous portion of slow-cooked potted rabbit, artichokes, salsa verde, hazelnuts and fresh salad (£9.50) was met with, ‘God, that’s tender.’ My main of spelt linguine, potatoes, sweet chilli, spring onion and smoked ricotta from Friuli (£11.50) took me back to a trip to Italy and my friend’s award-winning roasted fillet of pork, tuna sauce and marinated courgette (£18) smelt divine – even to my delicate veggie olfactory sense. We also had greedily ordered a side of refreshing cucumber, spring onion and mint salad (£5.50).
Desserts – a twin chocolate pudding with crème anglaise, chilli truffle and Chantilly (£7.20) and not panna cotta (the milk isn’t brought to the boil for extra creaminess) with honey, hazelnuts and rosemary on a bed of warm chocolate sauce packed a punch – especially that rich chocolate sauce. For the final surprise, Paolo presented a selection of retro sweets and jellies along with homemade shortbread. By this point we admitted we were truly beaten. My advice: go and make this the buzzy local hotspot it should be.
