I’ve read a few reviews which have described the interior of Locanda Locatelli as seedy, presumably because of the presence of Leather Sofas (imagine the words nailed to a wall and dripping with blood). So, rather than enjoying the comfortable cream sofas and the soft swivel armchairs, some critics would prefer to be wedged into a straight-backed slab of wood, modelled on an iron maiden. I found the dim lighting chic and relaxed. It is easy to see why 8 Seymour Street is popular with celebrities desirous of an intimate dinner.
It is pricy, and unless you are a movie
star, it’s probably strictly for special occasions. My Dad had a field day with
the 28 page wine list with a range of prices (my family agreed that an £800
bottle should, at the very least, contain the elixir of immortality).
To start, I had the Carpaccio served on
rocket with Parmesan cheese. It was perfectly soft melt in the mouth beef. I’m
not a fan of rocket but found this one soft and non-acidic. My brother and
sister both had homemade pasta parcels filled with ricotta and asparagus,
topped with soft baby asparagus and Parmesan. Despite not liking asparagus or
ricotta, I enjoyed it the morsel I tasted: the sign of a great chef is to
convert you to his or her choice of ingredients. My Dad had the special of
pasta parcels filled with aubergine and walnuts. My Mum had pan-fried scallops.
My mother, sister and brother went for
the special main course of slow cooked beef with mashed potato and morel
mushrooms. It was a fantastic fillet of medium rare beef served with a red wine
sauce. Needless to say, they weren’t sharing. My dad had honey roast breast of
duck, with broccoli, garlic and chilli. The sweet and sour flavours lent the
dish an Asian feel. I had the extravagant lobster linguine with tomato, garlic
and chilli. It was delicious, although my inner spice freak would’ve liked a
stronger chilli hit. We shared some deep-fried courgettes, which were like
delicious vegetable chips.
I was disappointed that the chocolate
fondant was not available on the night (having drooled over the menu in
advance), but my second choice made up for it. The chocoholics (my Dad, my
sister and I) went for the tasting of Amedei chocolate. This consisted of a soft
chocolate cake, slightly let down by a crumbly chocolate base, a scoop of white
chocolate ice cream with chunks of fudge, and the star was a pastry cylinder
filled with warm chocolate mousse. My brother had another special, a white
peach torte with white chocolate ice cream, which looked, and tasted,
wonderful. My mum went for a lighter dessert, fragrant Catalan cream foam with
berries and ice cream.
I was delighted with the selection tray
of sweets which accompanied the hot drinks. One was an orange sugar-coated
jelly, which was essentially, a very posh Jaffa Cake. Then a rich chocolate
truffle, and my personal favourite, an almond biscuit, which was macaroon-like in
texture but more rustic in appearance. I had a great meal, and I would
recommend Locanda Locatelli to anyone who loves Italian food.
Overall: 9.5/10
Here is a visual representation of my
meal. Probably not the greatest advertisement, but I had fun trying.
