Entertainment Now was recently invited to Lucarelli’s Knightsbridge restaurant. Read on to find out what Hamish thought of the casual Italian dining chain’s first location in London.
Look, I could sit here and recite promotions of ‘authenticity’, ‘tradition’ and ‘family’ till the cows come home. The problem is these words increasingly seem as authentic and traditional to contemporary marketing as they do to anything restaurants actually produce.
In reality my editor and I weren’t sat in a hazy late afternoon-lit kitchen as an Italian Grandmother fork-fed us tagliatelle to Pavarotti. No, across the aisle from a shop that sold nine grand whisky, we were very much in London.
Instead, what greeted us was rather more straightforward than that. Attentive service, a dazzling setting, and a reminder that in the powerful cross currents of locavore Brexit and omnivorous hunts for the next Shangri-la a la carte, ‘Italian’ ain’t going anywhere.
Perched on the fifth floor of one Harvey well-to-do Nichols, Lucarelli’s newest branch certainly peacocks the part. Imperial golds, cerulean blues, and marble whites paste an undoubtable majesty into the light open space of this up-market retail nest.
Initial fumbles for an entrance amidst foliage are rewarded by stylish tiled surfaces, a striking blue burnished bar front and seats upholstered with blossom trees not dissimilar from the attractive greenery that divides the space. You are at once transported to the finest interior of a baroque palazzo and a piazza café on that most glorious of summer’s day.
Once in, a sharp suit or a vibrant waistcoat will quickly find you. Gianfranco and Flavia greeted us warmly, leading us to our seats past the bustle of turquoise staff in an open kitchen. The space is as exuberant as the rest of restaurant, not least because of a wood-fired oven. It turns out they know how to use it too.
People, melted cheese is not good enough. If I may be so bold, pizza can be crap. This beautiful circle deserves respect. It deserves a recognition beyond frozen bases, lifeless floury crusts from aisle four or puddles of Saturday night slop. At its peak, the humble pizza balances colours, texture and flavour profiles into a magnificent tale equal to any of those spun on china. What Lucarelli’s Pizza Burrata told is worth retelling.
Teeth crunched through semolina and scorch onto a cushion of salt, sourness and alveoli air pockets, forged by a 24-hour plus fermentation process, that might as well have whispered “don’t worry, a grown up made this”. I believe they say pizzaiolo in Italian.
Folds of pork mortadella, sprinkled pistachios and a pizza bianca base followed, balancing cream, nuttiness and meaty bite into a fine culinary composition. The crescendo, one burrata. Maybe Pavarotti was playing after all.
Flatbreads and pizzas aren’t the only thing Lucarelli’s are using tipo 00 for. As I laboured through some hefty choices, my dinner date’s support unfortunately waning, Gianfranco wasn’t satisfied. Our waddling out of Lucarelli without the restaurant’s signature Ravioli Al Cacio E Pepe (Ravioli with cheese and pepper) sloshing around in the mix had been deemed unacceptable. He was right. An eggy rubbery resistance of fresh pasta gave way to gratification in rich creamy pecorino form. Guys, it was pretty great.
In fact, the Insalata Caprese (Caprese salad) and Costolette D’Agnello Arrosto (Roast Lamb Ribs) weren’t any worse. In an oh so Mediterranean way, Lucarelli’s truly know when not to over paint, the results are mouth-watering.
Quality ingredients in the Caprese were given the space to shine, as sliced avocado, tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, and a dash of pesto created heavenly bursts of freshness. Firm on the outside and creamy on the inside, melt-in-your-mouth mozzarella was particularly special.
More sorcery was perhaps required for the lamb to travel from fridge to fork. Dainty in appearance, cuts of goodness wrapped delicately in pancetta, accompanied with fluffy mash and drizzled in red wine sauce were anything but in flavour. Yet, amidst the punches of salt, umami and tang a large part of this dish was still a refined homage to some top-notch products; or as Lucarelli’s would insist, to provincial Italy.
Be it in the meat or from teet of a favourite barnyard quadruped, for many the taste of their neighbours grass trimmings is prized above all else. Lucarelli’s respectfully disagree. Instead, they fly a flag for terroir from afar, with the philosophy that some things can’t be replicated on this sceptred isle or anywhere else for that matter.
Burrata, mozzarella, lamb. Puglia, Naples, Abruzzo. Across the menu, it is a tapestry of lo Stivale that is woven by regional ingredients of the highest quality, just as Aldo Zilli intended. The celebrity chef teamed up with brand head Carmine Sacco last year to deliver a fourth restaurant that is uncompromising in its deployment of pride and nostalgia to make great food.
We rounded our afternoon off with the Panacotta. Delicate, vanilla fragrant and elevated to perfection by a lightly sweetened compôte, there isn’t much else to add. There isn’t much better.
Lucarelli’s is also open in Birmingham city centre, Solihull, and West Bromwich. With panacotta like that who knows where they’ll be next.
Find more on the Lucarelli website: London Knightsbridge | Lucarelli Restaurants – Traditional Italian Cuisine
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