Everyone loves Italian food, right? It’s definitely my go-to comfort food when I’m feeling sorry for myself or piling on those holiday calories. Ranging from good value for money – to blowing out the cash on that special occasion. It’s also the easiest to throw together at home for a simple taste of Italy – although if I’m behind the cooker, it’s unlikely it will be reminiscent of Italian food. That said, I’m always on the hunt for a new Italian restaurant and my latest journey took me to the fabulous Magenta in King’s Cross.
Where Bloomsbury meets King’s Cross, Magenta is a fine-dining restaurant celebrating contemporary Italian food which uses seasonal and local British ingredients and a menu crafted by Executive Head Chef Manuele Bazzoni, who injects a taste of Northern Italian food into the dishes to create at times – work of arts on the plate.
Designed by the renowned Henry Chebaane, the interiors are framed by towering arched windows and an indoor pergola of exposed Victorian-era industrial pipes, adorned with a thousand butterflies playing to a cinematic soundtrack. The music playing wasn’t quite to my taste – but then I haven’t met anyone with such poor taste in music as me (what’s so wrong with Liberty X?).
As for the food, we started with some beautifully executed charcoal sourdough and a dash of ‘Tonda Iblea’ extra virgin olive oil. The bread was warm and fluffy and the olive oil (oil from the Iblea Mountains in Sicily) was rich, fruity and intense.
The bread was a lovely introduction to Magenta and the perfect partner for our Negroni and Pedro Italiano cocktail. The latter was a mix of Pedro Ximenez sherry, amaro Lucano, Aperol & Mancino Chinato vermouth.
To kick off our experience, our first dish arrived – aged beef tartare, smoked yolk, pickled shimeji mushrooms and Oscietra caviar. Beautifully presented, the hand-cut tartare was wonderfully tender. The richness of the meat was complemented by the tang and earthiness of the pickled shimeji mushrooms. The smoked yolk, so as not to overpower the freshness of the dish, was light, but balanced all of the flavours. The salty caviar seasoned the dish perfectly, lingering on the tongue, and preparing your palate for each delicious bite to follow.
Another starter I thoroughly enjoyed was the heritage beetroot cannolo with vegan feta, toasted walnut and nashi pear. So fresh, with lots of sweetness and earthiness from the beetroot and the nuts gave a little texture. I’ve never had vega feta before, but I’m definitely adding it to my shopping basket next time.
For our primi course, braised rabbit barchette with marigold, burnt onion and spiced jus. A surprisingly light, and pleasantly satisfying plate of braised rabbit barchette. The rabbit was rich, well-seasoned and tender. The pasta had just the right amount of bite and the burnt onion and spiced jus brought flavours of smoky sweetness to the dish that married wonderfully. I didn’t care for the marigold – as I felt the bitterness took away some of the key flavours of other ingredients in the dish – but overall a lovely little dish.
The star of the show for me was the roasted duck breast glazed with peppercorn and lavender and served with rhubarb and three-corner garlic. The duck was exquisitely cooked, the light, but rich jus was dancing in my mouth and the little shards of rhubarb gave a nice nod to the season. The best part was the surprise on the plate, a small apple mould-filled duck pate. This was heaven on a plate.
Skate wing cooked in langoustine butter, langoustine tartare and English asparagus. The skate wing was cooked to perfection. The langoustine tartare was a paring I didn’t have confidence in with this dish – however, I got that completely wrong. The combination of cooked, raw, hot and cold – was a delight. All seasoned well, this was a generously sized dish – considering the barchette pasta I happily just devoured. The English asparagus (in my opinion, the best) was sweet, slightly nutty, and cooked al dente. Disappointingly, the langoustine butter/foam did nothing for me, or the dish. A simple browned butter would have been more agreeable and flavoursome.
I’m not quite sure how we had room for dessert, but we somehow managed. This was the Amalfi lemon and yuzu tart with charcoal meringue and olive oil gel. What a beauty, right? The Amalfi lemon and yuzu tart was something of a deconstructed pudding. The tart base was buttery, similar to shortbread, with a crumb-like texture. The lemon and yuzu topping was bursting with acidy and sharpness – a real palate cleanser. The charcoal meringue added an alternative texture to the pudding – but the olive oil gel was one ingredient too many for me. Scrap the latter and this dessert is practically perfect.
To finish, some lovely petit fours. We had a really lovely time at Magenta and this is not just a great restaurant if you’re travelling or in the area – but a destination restaurant in London well worth travelling for. The cocktails are delicious, the decor is quirky and the food is fantastic, all with some exciting twists and surprises along the way. Would we come back? Most definitely.
