The head chef here is, Michele del Monaco. I can’t say I’ve heard of him before, so it was an interesting meal to experience. The restaurant is meant to be Italian I believe, and it is – but not in the sense I was expecting, neither was it particularly authentic. More modern European with an Italian flare. Photos of the Oval’s dining on-line looked well sized, but in fact its oval (obviously) shape, is rather small and not at all cosy – how could it be with those icy blue cold lights! Were they trying to recreate the feeling of eating in a deep freeze? If so the air con didn’t let it down. It was chilly. Music came on about twenty minutes later after we sat down and broke the silence. Our waiter was so awfully polite, and the words “you’re welcome” started to grate. It all got a little repetitive.
More blue tinged plates started to arrive and this large portioned dish was a starter. Huge in size, and it didn’t need to be. Corn-fed chicken supreme with beetroot, potatoes, crispy tapioca and truffle sauce. As a plate of flavours, it worked, the beetroot was the nicely cooked, the sauce was rich and meaty, everything was seasoned well – but it was all cold – perhaps bordering lukewarm. Considering at this point we were the only people in the dining room there was no excuse for cold food – is the kitchen is taking to long to plate the food? It was such a shame because this could have been an excellent dish. If only that moist chicken was warm.
Our other starter of pan fried squids with parmentier cream was much more proportionately sized. The real problem was nothing on the plate knew exactly what it was doing. I will say this though, the squid was stunning. Not a touch overcooked, tasted very fresh, well seasoned and had a rich smokiness running through it. The edges had been slightly crisped too giving it a nice texture, but still without overcooking it. Parmentier cream was a little dry and cloying in the mouth, and it didn’t particularly have much flavour either and reminded me of something you’re more likely to find out of a jar of baby food.
Things continued to arrive a little confused, and strangely still – lukewarm. The restaurant had become a little busier by this point, but with no more than four other couples. More problems arose with this dish too. The kitchen is obviously trying with presentation here but it just isn’t working. Instead of serving a nice, neatly presented piece of beef, they chopped it all up and threw it all round the plate, along with some slightly grey tinged celeriac puree, beetroot mayonnaise (why) and broccoli – of which I counted two florets the size of peanuts. The only thing that was good about this dish was the jus.
The home-made burrata ravioli with Norcia black truffle sauce was a prime example of a chef attempting to create a dish with some wow factor, but thinking foam was the way to do it. Foam can be good in a dish, but only if it’s done correctly. There was so much foam. I had to wonder if someone forgot to wash the fairy liquid out of the plate. It even had floating petals – were we now in Lush purchasing bath bombs? It was a real shame because the actual pasta was really very lovely. It was well made, cooked perfectly and the sour, creamy burrata filling was delicious. The truffle sauce was under the foam, and if you’re wondering what was the foam flavoured with – I had no idea either, nor would I want to guess.
By this point in the meal we were praying our desserts wouldn’t be just as confused as the rest of the meal had been. And in fact they weren’t one bit. Orange cheesecake with citrus gel was stunning. From the crisp, caramelised piece of orange on top, to the mouthwatering flavour of the firm cheese section, right down to that buttery, crumbly biscuit base. Even the citrus gel was throwing its flavour around the plate. I have no idea who’s putting desserts together in the kitchen but they seem to be the only person who knows what they’re doing, either that or it’s the only thing the head chef here knows how to get right. The Wellesley may be a gorgeous hotel on the outside, but its restaurant on the inside just doesn’t do it for me.
5/10
