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Waiter Jacopo Granata, assistant manager Ottavio Braga, head chef Frederico Souza and waitress Camilla Tassinari |
Stylish and tasty Italian
THIS Italian Restaurant is located in an interesting street not far from Marble Arch, near Hyde Park
There are several restaurants, art galleries, curiosity shops and fashionable boutiques in Connaught Street, W2.
So it was not surprising when two of my most glamorous friends suggested we meet for lunch at this modern stylish restaurant decorated in beige and browns with a variety of lovely bottles lit from behind in alcoves around the restaurant.
The frosted windows of the façade conceal a surprisingly bright conservatory at the end of the room.
Lovely trees can be seen from this area. Arturo is one of two restaurants owned by Anthony Brown who takes great care to please his clients.
Tall and handsome Manager Claudio, who comes from Rome, joined the restaurant when it opened two and a half years ago.
We chose from their three course menu (£15.95). Under antipasti (I always think of it as ‘anticipation’) we had three choices: The Melanzane alla Parmigiana was a sliced baked aubergine served with a tomato sauce, mozzarella and boiled eggs.
The Uova in Camicia: a warm poached egg with crusty parmesan, bacon, potatoes and mushrooms.
The Crostini Misti: grilled bread with tomato, olives and chicken liver pate.
For secondi, two of us had the Orata Marinata – pan fried sea bream marinated with herbs served with crushed new potato and mint and one Porchetta alla Romana – the roast loin of pork served with polenta and caramelised onion.
I spotted their home made pasta with pesto sauce and asked charming Silvia if I could have a taste of it. It was delicious.
Their house white wine comes from Sicily (Vignali roccamora) and at £12.50 is an excellent buy. For Dolci we indulged in a sumptuous tiramisu instead of the lemon and mango sorbet.
Their a la carte menu is small but well balanced with a good variety of hearty Italian dishes by Chef Federico Sosa.
He comes from Sardinia and his creations are colourful and generous.
The ‘paste e risotto’ can be ordered as a starter or main dish (£7/14).
The all-Italian wine list is one of the best I have seen featuring the well known Barolo ‘le albe’ 2001 (Piemonte) at £69, the Pinot Grigio 2005 Santa Margherita (Trentino-alto-adige) at £21 and the not usually seen Cabernet Sauvignon Rose from Sicily at £17 the bottle.
The bar downstairs is cosy and I can imagine diners unwinding there before a relaxed evening.
Try a Negroni or their own version of the well known Bellini: fresh strawberries, squeeze of lemon, a bit of sugar topped up with Prosecco or just a glass of Prosecco Frizzante ca’ Morlin at £4.50 per glass.
Arturo
Connaught Street, W2
020 77063388 |
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