Last Updated on July 19, 2024
Easy Italian in London at Amalfi restaurant
The pristine interior of Amalfi restaurant, just off Oxford Circus in Argyll Street, is a welcome haven from the hubbub of London’s main shopping district. This contemporary styled Italian restaurant has exposed brick walls and a mosaic marble terrazzo floor. The wooden tables are well spaced out with bright, turn of the century lighting and a vibrant feel. If the sun isn’t shining in London quite as strongly as on the Amalfi coast, you could come here to cheer yourself up a bit!
It is the sort of place that’s worth knowing about for when you’ve finished shopping or before you head out to the theatre. The menu is comprehensive and not overly complex with pasta, sourdough pizza, fresh seafood and more together with a range of cocktails, wines, spirits and beer.
We started with a couple of cocktails – it would have been rude not to. A classic Aperol spritz for me, while my companion opted for the house smoked negroni – a classic negroni smoked with orange zest and juniper berries. Apart from being a fine cocktail in its own right, we loved the table theatre of the smoked dome and the really cute touch of the branded orange peel in the glass. A good start indeed.
One of the biggest issue for me with restaurants putting calories on menu items (as they are now required to do by law in many instances) is that it takes some of the joy out of dining out and making what you know is a naughty but nice choice. I suspect that may have been behind both of us picking a carpaccio as starter, a dish that comes in at under 200 calories. My companion’s Siciliana carpaccio was a generous portion of lightly seared thinly sliced fresh tuna served with a topping of wild rocket with diced chilli and a dressing of extra virgin olive oil and lemon. Rustic and delicate, it was a great way to start the meal.
My meaty version was a similar composition but with rare beef fillet rather than tuna.
We both opted for fish main courses. For me, grilled lemon sole served on the bone, with cucumber salsa verde, creamed potato, and fresh asparagus
Perfectly cooked fish was not helped by the cucumber salsa verde which seemed to be chilled. It’s a shame because for me that distracted from the fish itself. I loved the asparagus accompaniment but found the creamy mash a bit dry, perhaps a reflection on us dining at a slightly odd time of the day.
My companion’s spaghetti lobster was more successful. A whole Canadian lobster was carefully prepped and served with spaghetti in light lobster bisque with asparagus and fresh lemon. He loved the bisque and reported that the lobster was succulent and tender while the pasta was appropriately al dente.
Baked chocolate Etna, a marshmallow meringue topped mountain of double chocolate gelato with red fruit ‘lava’ was delicious – a kind of Italian take on a baked alaska. The chocolate gelato was good enough in its own right, but oh so much better with the marshmallow meringue
My companion’s Tiramisu was a classic dessert with layers of sponge soaked in coffee liqueur and smothered in mascarpone, all finished with chocolate and cocoa and served with rich espresso syrup.
Throughout the meal, we enjoyed a bottle of Sicilian white wine, Torre Mora Scalunera Etna. A bold wine with fresh, white fruit and herbaceous aromas and with good minerality and a long finish.
Amalfi is the kind of venue that we think will soon become a firm favourite with shoppers and ladies who lunch. It’s well priced and brilliantly situated. The food tastes fresh and light and there are plenty of options at a reasonable price.
Amalfi Restaurant
25 Argyll Street,
Soho London,
W1F 7TU
Leave a Reply