Refettorio - Blackfriar's
Review by Veronica Blake
BLACKFRIAR’S at night has a Dickensian feel. The turn of the century architecture with the backdrop of eerily Gothic Blackfriar’s Bridge in the moonlight providing the perfect setting.
Apart from the presence of a stray cat rummaging in the dustbins or a passing cab, not a lot happens here at night. Especially since the departure of Fleet Street news rooms to the more modern confines of Canary Wharf, there’s an air of melancholy about the area.
By day it’s a lively bustle of City banking staff but at night, when the trading houses have closed for the night, it’s deserted.
The arrival of ultra-modern Crowne Plaza was a welcome injection of life to Blackfriars, especially at night. The hotel’s stylishly sleek restaurant has been attracting London’s movers and shakers.
Under the direction of Michelin starred chef, Giorgio Locatelli, and with the excellent Italian chef Mattia Camaroni in charge of the kitchen the restaurant’s reputation has grown for its first class modern Italian cuisine using the freshest seasonal ingredients.
The burnished wood, long refectory style tables provide a modern rustic feel. There’s a private dining room adjacent to the the main restaurant, no doubt where the City’s high flyers can broker their deals over a plate of the superb regional Italian cheeses and charcuterie and a bottle of the finest Barolo.
The menu seems to have been designed with power brokers in mind. The ‘Convivum’ selection of anti pastas with a distinctly hairy-chested hunter gatherer feel includes dishes entitled, Beef, Cow, Goat, Wild Boar and Ewe. Accompanied by rustic chunks of bread, homemade pickles and Lardo di Colonnata, or sliced Lard of Pork.
The very thought of all that meat and lard is enough to drive you out on a wild board hunt if only to shake off those excess calories!
We opted for the less calorific, more girlie sounding Insalata de tonno – tuna salad with butter beans and red onion – and artichoke salad with shallot dressing and parmesan, with rustic bread and olives. The olive oil and balsamic dip were delicious.
The service is excellent at Refettorio. There’s a warmth which is inately Italian. Guests really are made to feel welcome. Service is non-intrusive and very helpful. We were gently guided through specials of the day and which wines would best accompany our main courses.
Our waitress, a stylish Penelope Cruz look-alike, could make it on the catwalk or in films we thought, should she ever decide to quit waitressing.
We skipped the Paste e Risotto as we felt we could never face a main course had we opted for one of the freshly made, in-house tagliatellis or Linguines. The chick pea soup with calamra sounded tempting though.
The chargrilled chicken with roast potatoes and spinach was delicious, the chicken was finely cut and cooked to perfection. What a shame there wasn’t a house cat or dog, I thought, as I just couldn’t finish it all. Portions are large!
Main courses are traditional with a modern twist and include roast lamb with rosemary and roast potatoes, saddle of rabbit stuffed with roast garlic and pan fried red mullet with potato cake and capers, black olives and cherry tomatoes.
I got the feeling that there’s much more of a lunchtime buzz at Refettorio with its menu just perfect for the City banker or hedge fund manager and their clientelle.
My friend tried the melt-in-the-mouth chocolate cake for dessert. Our waiter brought us a sample of the latest version which had been created that very afternoon by Giorgio. It was delicious.
My apple pie was an artistically sculpted affair of fluffy apples on a crisp base and superb. Each dish has that Locatelli stamp of attention to detail and culinary care.
Those City folk are very fortunate to have such a temple of culinary excellence on their doorstep.
Refettorio
Crowne Plaza London – The City,
19 New Bridge Street,
London, EC4V 6DB.
Tel: 020 7438 8052.