The latest edition to Knightsbridge’s upmarket Sloane Avenue is Venosi, an elegant Italian restaurant run by father and son, Luigi and Gino. According to Luigi, Italian cooking has always been in their blood, both having worked in restaurants in Italy as children.
The restaurant’s interior is classically elegant. On my arrival after work with my friend Simon we were one of two couples but by mid evening the room had a buzz to it as locals eagerly perused the menus of the new kid in town.
Despite the restaurant having not yet found its atmosphere, the old black and white family photos that don the walls certainly added a touch of charm as does Luigi who is quite a character; regaling us with stories of his time in the restaurant industry and the pride he holds for his son, Gino; the chef who can be seen running around the smart, open-plan kitchen.
To start Simon ordered the crab salad (£9.50), served with rocket, quails egg and capers, creating a good mix of textures. The quail’s egg did not add much in way of flavour but gave the delicate dish a pleasant richness with the capers providing the real kick.
I had the tuna carpaccio. I found it much more pungently fishy than usual which was slightly off putting and led me to douse it in lemon to tame it.
Our tipple of choice from the extensive Italian sourced wine menu was a 2009 Catarratto (£16.95). This popular Italian grape is native to Sicily and produces full-bodied wines with a citrusy tang so it was perfectly suited to compliment our fish dishes. The wine offerings were well priced with good entry bottles and Champagne from £40.
For my main I ordered the lobster linguine (£22.50) with fresh cherry tomatoes, parsley and chilli. It was beautifully presented and had a generous amount of tender lobster. However, I found the mass of tomatoey pasta it sat on slightly bland.
Simon opted for the salted cod (£17.50), which was brought to our table enveloped in the impressive bed of salt before being taken away and served up. It was again a generous portion of moist and meaty cod, although the salt was slightly overpowering. The olive and tomato sauce was delicious and the sautéed potatoes were fantastically rich and creamy.
The dessert menu was the most creative with parmesan ice-cream (£5.50) staring out at us ominously – Heston eat your heart out. The waiter assured us that it was Gino’s creation and was indeed very ‘interesting’.
The intriguing creamy ball came served on a bed of rocket, and I can safely say I have never tasted anything like it in my life… It was horrendous. The ice-cream had an awful mousse-like, greasy, fatty texture and a pungent cheesy hum. Some people opt for a cheese board for desert, in the same way others with a sweet tooth dash towards the ice-cream – and now I know there is an incredibly good reason for keeping these two traditions very, very separate. I applaud the creativity but I think this is the one dish at Venosi that should never have made it on the menu – sorry Gino.
