Cicchetti Covent Garden - Restaurant Review

Following the success of San Carlo Cicchetti  in Manchester the third London restaurant has opened in Wellington Street, Covent Garden in London. In partnership with Chef Aldo Zilli they are offering a truly luxurious selection of plates of food, designed to please the palate of any Italian cuisine lover.

Cicchetti (pronounced chi-KET-tee) are small dishes typically served in cicchetti bars in Venice, designed to be shared with friends.

I was invited by Aldo Zilli to review the Wellington Street restaurant and took my friend Aggie with me as my +1.

We were welcomed and promised to be looked after by Head of Front of House, Norlys, the only non-Italian member of staff.  He is from Cuba and really entertained us and looked after us.  Did we want to order from the menu or would we like them to just bring us a selection.  As long as there was no goat’s cheese I was happy to have their suggestions.

Initially we were served a bowl of olives, tapenade and a selection of breads to nibble as well as a Bellini cocktail (Prosecco and peach puree).

This was followed by mini deep fried mozzarella balls, lots of small sun blushed tomatoes, parma ham and buffata soft and creamy mozzarella and a baby tomato bruschetta.

A crisp white wine kept flowing whilst we had a selection of lovely little plates of really tasty food such as:-

Pumpkin risotto topped with a fine parmesan crisp and presented with slivers of white truffle.

Halibut pan fried and served on a bed of samphire and sun blushed tomatoes.

King Tiger Prawn sautéed in garlic and chilli.

Crispy, thin slices of deep fried courgette.

Then a lobster tail on a bed of taglietellini.  The flavours of this were so intense, although a bit too salty for me, and I do like salty.

We were by this time feeling really full when a wooden platter of mini desserts were placed on our table. Mini versions of panna cotta, mille fuille, chocolate ganache and a hazelnut cream mousse.

A coffee and a Mirto Liqueur (a traditional myrtle liqueur from Sardinia – licore de murta), strong, dark purple colour with a fruity, herby taste. The first sip was a killer but subsequent sips started to grow on you!!

Aggie and I left with the promise that we would be back one day soon.  It was a really lovely meal although the room was a tad too dark for my photos to do the food justice.  This seems to be the norm in restaurants these days.

I was invited to review Cicchetti and was not paid to do so. As usual all opinions and photographs are my own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PAUL & Meeting Up With Fellow Food Bloggers

Not long ago I was invited to discover the menu at the newly opened restaurant of PAUL at their Covent Garden patisserie. It was a great discovery for somewhere to get a great coffee, fresh pastry and bread or a truly delicious regional French meal.  To read my account click here.

A couple of weeks ago a group of food blogger friends met up there for supper.  I didn’t think you wanted me to reiterate the menu or what I had to eat (I was going to have a different main course but enjoyed the Confit de Canard so much I had it again).

We had a lovely evening chatting and giving each other blogging help and hints. Sitting in this restaurant you could look around and feel like you were really in France in a lovely local bistro! The mirrors, the chairs and tables and the overloaded French dresser all added to the ambiance.

The staff make sure you feel at home and offer you a friendly but not pushy service, making sure you want to return again, with friends or even on your own (you would be most welcome!).

Next time you are in between Leicester Square and Covent Garden and you don’t have helilcopter access to transport you to France for a traditional regional meal or a fresh baguette, pop down to Bedford Street (or look on their web site to find your other branches)and visit PAUL!

They have a great loyalty scheme entitling you to free coffee, sandwiches and more if you sign up on line.  I also was attracted to their pic-nic bag offer.  Perfect for a picnic for 2-4 people lunching in a London park but even now the weather has turned it is perfect for a pic-nic in a sheltered place, feet up and dry while you ponder what to do next in London.

Their house red wine is really lovely and purse friendly! It is a smooth red with no sharp 'wine' edges!  Cheers!!

For more PAUL fun, food and frolics have a look at some of the reviews from that day from some of my blogger friends that went too.

1. Karen Burns Booth - Lavender and Lovage

2. Manjiri Chitnis - A Slice of Me

3. Nayna Kanabar - Citrus Spice UK

4. Tina Chawla - The Spicy Pear

5. Sylvia Filozof - Happiness is Homemade

6. Mabintu Mustapha - Recipes From A Pantry

 

I was a guest of PAUL Covent Garden but as usual all opinions and photos are my own.