Food & Drink 4.5
Service 4.5
Atmosphere 4
Value 4
Back on Form
This place dipped for a while since I wrote in 2009 below. Now with a familiar chef at the helm (whose food, for many years I adored at Aubergine in Marlow), we try to dine at Zafferano whenever we are within striking distance. A few weeks ago, I had halibut with a walnut pesto and capers – so simple but faultless and the sort of food you could eat again and again. The other day we popped in rather late in the afternoon thinking we may have missed service. We ordered a bowl of pasta before moving on for an appointment, but not before, my partner had ordered a second bowl of the same veal ravioli with gremolada, which just about says it all. Overall, I'd say my score should be 8.5.
Z was pretty busy before and after we left on Sunday evening which speaks volumes. Not enamoured by the menu at first glance and disappointed that lobster wasn’t available, I didn’t expect great things. Oh, did my mood lift as we went for 3 savoury courses plus a shared pud which had been prepped & cooked to perfection throughout. Not a revolutionary experience but just scrummy yummy. Impressed by Maitre d’hôtel’s recommendation for my main plus a Sicilian wine – the name I’m still trying to recall. Naturally an Italian leaning was expected but with astounding choice and some reasonably priced bottles exactly as SqM states et al. Venue was chosen on the basis of easy walk from hotel and my partner fancying Italian fare that evening – glad he did as we’d return without hesitation.
Food & Drink 2.5
Service 2.5
Atmosphere 2.5
Value 1.5
Dinner with two courses was £310 which included 2 bottles house champagne for which they charged £132 + service [£152]. Told the head waiter that Square Meals had listed the champagne at £50 per bottle and would he adjust the bill. He said he wasn't interested and wouldn't make any adjustment. We were appalled by this attitude and the overall indifference of the manager…The food was very. poor value and very disappointing and many of the dishes had a supplementary charge over and above the extremely expensive price for the set menu.
No a la carte menu .
Food & Drink 4
Service 3.5
Atmosphere 3
Value 3
Pasta can strike me as incongruous in a dolled-up setting, what with its humble roots and emphasis on provenance over pomp. But given spectacular reviews, we gave Zafferano a whirl when wandering through sunny Belgravia one Friday evening.
We rang ahead and were told that only space in the bar was available, which suited us fine. (The main-restaurant embargo struck me as odd when we arrived though, as several tables remained untouched right up until the end of the night). When offered a glass of champagne – a standard upsell in these moneyed parts – I was too busy swooning over the waiters to protest. Each one was unnervingly dashing and sharply turned out – just the right side of flirtatious, utterly charming and almost exclusively Italian – thus coaxing me into a £20 splurge before my jacket was in the cloak room.
The now-ubiquitous burrata is a regular on the menu, but you’d be wrong to yawn. (I’m pretty sure Locatelli was one of the first chefs to unveil this delicacy’s oozing, creamy loveliness to the nation, and for this reason I harbour a major crush on both man and cheese). Heavenly starters included an elegant, seasonal salad brimming with squeaky garden peas and teeny broad beans. This sweet medley was made all the more decadent when garnished with nutty, rich slivers of San Daniele ham, pilfered from my other half.
The wheels fell off the service wagon when our second course arrived, as we were still sharing our starters. There was a bit of an awkward fumble when the waiter seemed to expect us to either gobble the remainder at speed or to simply welcome the dishes as the swiftest mains ever. As a result, I fear we may have rocketed from 0-£180 (including wine) in less than an hour. Fresh pasta with lamb ragú and pecorino was moreish and toothsome: a good, honest plateful of totally unfussy comfort and joy. So too was my arrabiata with its fat, tubular pasta, a peppy sauce and al dente bite.
But chef or no chef, I’m guessing a seasoned Italian can whip up a pasta dough in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. Even if Zafferano’s olive oil is the most exquisite extra virgin from a single estate, and the San Marzano tomatoes are imported with the level of care usually reserved to vintage cars or diamonds, how do you conjure up a price structure where even the simplest pasta dish is nudging 20 good English pounds?
Maybe prices are routine for the postcode, given it’s not uncommon to see punters at neighbouring ‘deli’ Ottolenghi dropping a ton on a picnic for four. But two courses for £36.50? Going the whole hog with four courses – your primi, secondi and all that business – will give you scant change from a £50 note. Cripes. There’s no respite when it comes to wine either: the list is vastly dominated by magnificent Italian grapes, and – if you’re a novice like me – you’ll be grateful for the steer when it comes to ordering something other than the Super Tuscans (because you've heard of them, which must make them good). Our Barolo was amazing, but the pricetag was massive.
The décor is smart and ripe with explosive sprays of blooms, but each time I recalled the prohibitive cash assault awaiting us, it took the shine off somewhat. While I was wowed by Locanda Locatelli’s five-star service and finesse when I visited a couple of years ago, Zafferano seems to be masquerading as more of a neighbourhood restaurant (albeit to seriously upmarket locals). In all fairness, why shouldn’t it?! And is it reasonable for me to pooh-pooh a restaurant on the basis that it’s too pricey for me?
Lovely though Zafferano is, I’d struggle to say that dinner here represents value, or that I can justify coming back. I realise Italian restaurants are ten-a-penny across London and that a beauty is a serious find, but it’s simply not in my budget and I can't really get my head around the numbers. Zucca’s a more realistic (and ulimately more satisfying) destination for shallower pockets, with fab food, wine and atmosphere at a fraction of the price.