REVIEW: Slow Dining Supper with Menabrea at L’Anima, City of London

What is slow dining you ask? Well I had to ask myself the same question recently. There are so many food ideas and dining trends around these days I’ve sort of lost the reasons why these things exist. It wasn’t until only recently that I discovered how important slow food or slow dining is and how it represents something very unique. In simple, slow food is all about being good, clean and fair across all aspects of production – not just the food itself. I was lucky enough to be invited down to the much talked about Italian restaurant L’Anima in the City to experience an exclusive slow supper paired with fabulous Menebrea Italian beer – all in the name of research I say.

To start us on our culinary slow food journey we started with a selection of canapés, from new creations, to L’Anima classics such as those spoons of deliciously moist chunks of octopus with soft cheese and fresh pesto. Slivers of prosciutto ham was melt in the mouth – but the baby bruschetta were sublime; oozing with sweetness and ripe flavours from those rather delicious cherry tomatoes. Of course all of these canapés would be no good without a cold glass of Menabrea beer to wash it down with – or two.

I’d heard so much about L’Anima in the past, yet over the years and for whatever reason I’ve just never managed getting around to visit, until now – and this won’t be the last time. L’Anima is truly an extraordinary restaurant. Inside it looks fantastic – a large open-plan room separated by lots of glass, clever lighting and sleek, yet classy décor. Ready to delve into our five course menu we started with an amuse bouche – an Amber Menabrea beer infused drunken oyster. Admittedly I’m not a huge fan of oysters – I don’t really see the point of them but as oysters go, this was pretty good. One course here at L’Anima however was truly outstanding – a dish I don’t think I’ll ever forget the taste of. Chopped raw beef with lashings of black truffle, cauliflower purée and runny quail egg. Essentially the dish was an Italian version of the French steak tartar, but better. If this dish is or ever makes its way onto the main menu – make sure it’s top of your list for ordering.

It’s been a long while since I’ve eaten a meal somewhere in London and enjoyed almost every single dish that arrived in front of me – but L’Anima managed to do the impossible and even went on to creating what turned out to be the best dish I’ve eaten this year. A beautiful pasta dish made using more beer again, this time a Menabrea Malloreddus – along with a silky soft wild boar ragu whose flavour was so deep and rich you have to wonder what lengths the kitchen must have gone to making something this concentrated, not to mention the time. The dish was finished off with a sprinkling of ground up meat scratchings – and there was me thinking it couldn’t get any better. Black cod marinated in Menabrea Bionda beer, paprika and palourde clams was almost just as good, but considering we were eating five courses of rich food it was a little generous in size – but its cooking couldn’t be faulted.

Our dessert of raspberry and almond tart with liquorice crumble and yoghurt ice cream was probably the least spectacular dish and I can’t decide whether it was of its own fault or because we were simply fed so much throughout our other four courses – so for that reason I won’t judge it too harshly.

Our meal at L’Anima was truly spectacular and I can’t recommend it enough, with all our courses paired with the refined beer from Menabrea it made for a meal I won’t be forgetting for a long time. L’Anima may be hidden away in the depths of the city, but if it were slap bang in the middle of Soho – the queues would be spiralling down the streets.

I was invited to review