Zucca, Bermondsey St, London
Zucca is a restaurant that I have wanted to try since it opened. Given that Nicholas Lander of the FT has reviewed it twice in 3 years, it was one of his restaurants of the year and the chef wrote in the magazine and portrayed to be authentic Italian food. I had tried several times to get a table via the website without success and last weekend I had a party at Bermondsey Square and called up on the off chance and we were lucky enough to get the last table. This is what I wanted at River Cafe and half the price!
The restaurant is quite small but very light with minimalist decor. The open kitchen was quietly purring like a well looked after Ferrari in the background ably supported by the front of house staff. So good to hear the staff talking in Italian to each other and they were very helpful and keen to check everything was ok. The selection of breads and dipping oil was very tempting and high quality.
We started with some Zucca (butternut squash) fritti. The batter was very thin, very crispy and not greasy at all; the squash was cooked to perfection – soft but with some bite. So moreish and indulgent. The other anti pasti was green asparagus with burrata cheese however I am dairy intolerant so we asked if we could have it without the cheese. The waitress came back and asked if we would like it with crushed almonds and some chilli garlic oil and it was delicious especially mopping up the dressing with the bread.
For mains I had chargrilled mackerel with a salad of rocket and fennel – the fish was cooked perfectly – soft and yielding but with a nice char on the skin but under seasoned for my taste. The salad could have done with a little more dressing. My friend’s pappardelle with lamb ragu was a delight. Perfectly cooked pasta with just the right amount of sauce which was thick enough to cling to the pasta and with such good flavour. I wanted to have a plate myself. We had a glass of prosecco to start and the sommelier chose a glass of wine to go with our mains which were both perfect matches. The whole lot came to £47 each. If I can get a table I will be back for sure – great food, good value, easy to get to and great service – what more could you want?
epicuriousengineer 