Zafferano – London

Apart from always finding an excuse to dine at an Italian restaurant, I had roped in the others to join me at Zafferano mainly down to the fact that Signore Giorgio Locatelli (he is my equivalent to a rock god) use to work his magic there before he opened Locanda Locatelli. I was so intrigued to find out how good it was, especially as it has been on the foodie scene since 1995.

The word on the street (the internet) is that Zafferano is a popular choice among London diners and has had the odd ‘celebrity’ visting. Stalking their instagram account, I was privy to see that Antonio Conte, the ex Italian football manger and now Chelsea’s future mentor had been dining there recently! If it’s good enough for him, then it must be worth paying a visit right?

Why I love  Zafferano

During our experience there were two things that stood out to me:

Firstly, our main meal was delicious. Jodie and I chose the freshly made tagliatelle with rabbit ragu served with salted ricotta. The pasta seemed to have been made with a gazillion egg yolks as was beautifully golden and super silky on the tongue. The pasta was lightly coated with the rabbit ragu which was light but gamey. The flavours were enhanced by the spirals of salted hard ricotta shaved on top. I did not want it to end. This was by far my favourite dish compared to my starter. I chose vitello tonnato, a Northern Italian dish consisting of veal slices served with a tuna sauce and capers. It was also very tasty, but would have preferred a few more caper berries and little less tuna sauce. That’s just my preference though, as that’s how I have had it before in other restaurants.

My second highlight of the evening was Emmanuele, the sommelier. He’s the guy who helps to pair your wine with your food, and he was just outright FAB-U-LOUS. His 5 star vino knowledge was so impressive and I just loved how passionate he was in sharing it with us. He really did add a touch of class to our dinner which I have never experienced anywhere else before. Emmanuele chose an exceptional white wine from Veneto to go with our meal. Then when things couldn’t get any better, as a little bonus he also offered us a complimentary delicious cold shot of mirto to end of our meal. A sweet flavoured digestif from Sardinia made from black berries grown on the myrtle plant. Mmmm!

 We all agreed that we had a lovely evening catching up, eating food, drinking wine and I would love to return to experience their lunch menu which appears to have a different selection of dishes.
However, if I had to get OCD about anything, the linguine with lobster, chilli and fresh tomato (as written on the menu) ordered by the boy was served with spaghetti, rather than linguine.
Now…..you may think I’m being harsh finding this a little annoying but if you are a pasta fanatic like me you will know where I am coming from. Spaghetti and linguine are both from the long pasta family but are used for different type of sauces. Linguine has a flat surface which makes it ideal for medium thick sauces such as this one as it allows it to cling to the strands – unlike spaghetti which has a round surface. By the time we had noticed it was half eaten so we did not want to kick up a fuss as everything else was so lovely!

Zafferano, is a popular place and I can see why. It’s in the heart of Belgravia which is a very flashy part of West Central London and easy to get to. Everything is cooked well, and as mentioned Emmanuele, our sommelier really made it an experience if you really enjoy a good glass of wine. The restaurant has a classic and upmarket feel, so it’s more fitting for a quiet, classy affair. It’s not a ‘cheap and cheerful’ one, so it’s more appropriate for a treat (unless you are already minted). Great for a good chinwag, as its not too loud too. Looking forward to coming back and sampling the lunch menu when I give myself a day off -and who knows maybe i’ll bump into Antonio Conte next time?!

15 Lowndes Street,
London, SW1X 9EY