Eneko Atxa is one of the Basque Country’s greatest chefs, with three Michelin stars for Azurmendi in Bilbao. So when it was announced in April that he was opening a 110-cover restaurant in Covent Garden’s One Aldwych hotel, we got a tad excited. After a month-long soft launch, we finally got through the door last night. Here’s our verdict on Eneko at One Aldwych.
?? Very good – discover our rating system here
Anybody who was familiar with Axis will note big changes in One Aldwych’s basement: with the opening of Eneko, a third of the roof has been cut away to create a double-height ceiling, allowing light to flood in while still offering more intimate dining beneath what is now a mezzanine. Dressed with chestnut tables, chiselled pine walls (good luck finding the door for the loo) and large, deep-red corner booths, the interior is striking if not stylish, but an appealing, buzzing dining room nevertheless.
As promised, the food is more accessible than the chef’s continental offering (Atxa himself will visit the restaurant once a month), the succinct menu split traditionally into starters, mains and sides of fish, meat and veggies. Prices aren’t quite as steep as a hotel restaurant in Aldwych permits, with value heightened once the food arrives: a theatrical starter of oysters, crabs and wild prawns (two could share this) arrives on a bed of smoking seaweed; an ordinary-sounding talo dish (a thin corn tortilla) is festooned with heritage tomatoes, flowers, herbs and pearls of oil, buzzing with light flavour; juicy roasted Ibérico shoulder is perfectly complimented by a milky slick of garlic cream. Our highlight was lightly battered chunk of fall-apart hake, enlivened by a thick, red pepper sauce swimming with confit vegetables.
Not one dish we tried disappointed in taste or looks; presentation is evidently paramount for the kitchen. A variety of desserts are each served with a deeply moreish vanilla Basque ice cream, or there’s Bizkaiko Txakolina dessert wine from Basque Country. The all-Spanish wine list is well edited but expensive and the staff will lead you to appetising pairings.
Atxa has certainly done his London research, offering an accessible, unfussy menu and setting with broad appeal. Dish descriptions are perhaps too sparse and prices creep up, but those after an introduction to The Basque Country (or just a delicious meal) will not be disappointed.
Find out more and book a table at Eneko at One Aldwych here
This article was published 2 September 2016