Latium, 21 Berners Street, London, W1T 3LP, www.latiumrestaurant.com
Sequestered away on a rather nondescript street in the city’s Fitzrovia neighborhood, Latium, which is named after the southern Italian region of Lazio, is many things… but nondescript is certainly not among them.
This handsome but understated restaurant serves up some of the best Italian cuisine that it has ever been my pleasure to ingest. The kitchen’s specialty is ravioli – and the presentations are studies in artistic ethereality, as you can clearly see from the incredible starter of elegant pasta pockets filled with Taleggio cheese, Swiss chard, and ground walnuts gently seasoned with marjoram. Equally satisfying to both eye and palate was the main course of ravioli stuffed with veal accompanied by delicate slivers of zucchini and sprinkling of pecorino cheese.
But Latium is infinitely more than pasta. A prelude of cauliflower soup garnished with crumbles of gorgonzola and splash of olive oil proved to be a silky revelation; and entrées (other than the ravioli selections) are evenly divided between meat and fish. Thoroughly enjoyed, for example, was the pan fried fillet of Cornish gurnard (a delicate white-fleshed fish). Incredibly moist, it reclined on a seabed of wilted spinach surrounded by a pool of flavorful fennel broth.
Our desserts included a benchmark tiramisú kissed by coffee mocha foam and a lime parfait wrapped in wafer thin shavings of fresh pineapple (which resembled ravioli), aided and abetted by mint sauce and sweet balsamic vinegar.
A marvelous dining experience.
Bon Appétit!
TAD
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