Italian food in London is really not what it used to be. I remember going out for dinner ten or so years ago with my family and back then, Italian restaurants were simple. Carbonara, lasagne, ravioli, steak and simple fish. Now however it’s all slightly more eclectic. Nduja makes its way into everything, Prosecco now comes on tap with barely any fizz and melon topped with Parma ham seems to have been eradicated. Personally I’m a bit sad about it all. Visit Bologna in Italy and those Italian classic are still alive, but why? Because that’s real Italian food and that’s why I’m so happy Mr Randall has opened up Theo’s Simple Italian in Earl’s Court. As its name suggests, this is Simple Italian food – but done well.
Inside Theo’s Simple Italian it’s looking great too. Marble topped tables, sultry lighting, huge windows and autumnal coloured leather chairs. None of that Prosecco on tap rubbish either. Quality bottled Prosecco by the glass which is served by a fleet of welcoming and very attentive staff who have managed the art of service so right. Informative, but unobtrusive. It’s harder than you think.
After guzzling down our delicious glass of sparkling, we ordered a lovely bottle of Sicilian white wine and our starters. Burrata with crushed broad beans & pistachio oil may have looked like a simple plate of food, but it was so much more than that. The quality of the burrata was excellent, creamy on the inside but with and stringy firm outer and rich milky flavour. The broad beans had a nice freshness to them too with a touch of mint and the pistachio oil brought it all together nicely. Our pasta dish was another lovely taste of Italy – home-made ravioli, filled with a ricotta & nettle filling and smothered in sage butter sauce. It was absolutely gorgeous.
Believe it or not, it got better still with our main course. We’re big fans of veal Milanese so when we saw it on the menu as sharing size for two, we couldn’t quite resist ourselves. Looking at the menu £40 does seem a lot, but don’t forget it’s for two – that’s only £20 a head. For that you get excellent quality veal, covered in a crispy golden crumb, lashings of sea salt and a couple of lemon slices for squeezing. It wasn’t just one of the best veal Milanese’s I’ve eaten – it was THE best. This large offering also comes with a fresh rocket salad and some fantastic sautee potatoes, covered in a parmesan and Italian her seasoning. We also ordered a portion of well cooked and seasoned zucchini fritti.
Dessert didn’t let the Italian side down either. A cocoa dusted heavy tiramisu was every bit as rich and creamy as we’d hoped for, taking us right back to Bologna for a few short moments. The chocolate cremosa millefoglie was also a stunner, with layers of glazed flaky pastry which were packed with a thick chocolate cream. The whole thing was then drizzled in a tart red berry sauce. The pastry could have been slightly less coloured in all honestly, but it was still a really lovely way to end our meal.
When I first heard about the opening of Theo’s Simple Italian I expected it to be a bit lacking, but for no real or valid reason. Instead we ended up having one of the best simple Italian meals of our year and given it’s such a short walk from our front door, we’ll most certainly be frequenting this restaurant for many years to come. If the food here is anything to go by, I think a visit to Theo Randall at the InterContinental is in order next.
