Some years after eating at Zafferano Restaurant, where chef Locatelli used to work, I had the pleasure or eating his food again. For some time now, he has his own restaurant, Locanda Locatelli, based in a street parallel to the famous Oxford Street in London. When approaching the restaurant, from the outside the restaurant you already get a taste of what the interior is like: The name “Locanda Locatelli” in stylish lettering indicate the “backdoor” of the restaurant. Inside, beautiful leather seats with benches next to the tables, covered with nicely ironed linnen and simple white plates. In short, simplicity executed really well.
We arrived around lunch time and for a changed ordered a-la-carte. The (Italian) waiter approached us and handed us the menu. Chicken broth with tortellini, followed by sole and finished of by chocolate mousse……
Perfectly clear chicken broth was brought to the table a little while after we ordered. It was de-li-cious. Just enough tortellini in it and the broth was so full of flavor that I could have eaten another plate of it. I did once write that the chicken at Angelina in Paris is the best I have ever eaten. Well, in liquid form, this soup is maybe not the best ever, but really close to it. One spoon full of broth with a tortellini had just the right amount of salt. The portion you get was fairly large, so you do get value for money when looking at both quality and quantity. By the time we finish the starter, the restaurant is completely full, yet the noise levels are still surprisingly low.
Main course was perhaps not very Italian, but nice nevertheless: Sole with seasonal vegetables. As was the case with the starter, the fish was slightly salty and nicely “buttery” without it being greasy. Vegetables were not though, so the combination was just right again. The fish was beautifully cooked and presented de-boned (at my request) on top of the vegetables. It was quite a big fish as well, so it is a good this we’re not on a 5-course meal. The vegetables were a mix of beans (e.g. broad beans), peas and spinach. What we noticed by now is that there is very little contact or interaction with the waiters. Where this isn’t necessarily a bad this, we have been trying to lure one to the table for another drink. It took nearly 5 minutes for one of the waiters to come to our table. This also gave us a chance to ask for the menu to pick our dessert.
Dessert was a chocolate mousse with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream, sitting on top of some chocolate crumbs. Only one word comes to mind here: Wow. What an excellent dessert. Nothing fancy, apart from the presentation, but simple nice flavors. Rich and somewhat bitter chocolate with slight sweetness of the vanilla ice cream is just classic. We’re not leaving until we had our cup of tea. Luckily, this came much quicker than the drinks earlier.
The price of lunch at Locanda Locatelli will really depend on what you’ll have. We spent approx. GPB 50-60 excluding drinks and this is a fair price. The meals are really tasty and portions are definitely not small. The amount of money you spend is worth it, for sure. What I would like to see here if I ever go back is slightly more attentive staff and a set menu of say 5 courses. Let the chef surprise me a little….
Restaurant location: View on Google Maps
Restaurant website: http://www.locandalocatelli.com