One of the best restaurants in London
This review should have been written early in the year, but for once our first visit here took place before da Terra was on this site. The food here is really very good, and the service exemplary, but before I get into detail it's necessary I think to point out a few quirks. These didn't put us off, and hopefully they won't dissuade you either, but its best to turn up with your expectations attuned to what you're going to get.
They opened with a "soft launch" early in the year . Frankly the launch was so soft that the place was and still may be close to invisible. One by product of that is that on both our visits (both at lunch) it was very quiet indeed. Fortunately the chefs (its an open kitchen ) and the maitre d' are chatty and its nevertheless a pleasant place to be. We understand that evenings are busier.
There are two menus, both tasting menus, a long and a short. You won't see them online, and you won't see them at your table either. You eat what they give you, in the same way as you do at Hedone for example. Interestingly this doesn't mean that anyone with dietary preferences or allergies gets forgotten- you tell them about these before you arrive and they'll be ready with alternative dishes that comply with your preferences/needs, and every bit as delicious as the standard menu too.
Finally whatever desription you can find of the food will refer back to Latin American and Italian influences. The reality is that the top people here have worked in many of Europe's top kitchens and their origins food-wise are rather eclectic. (very) contemporary European probably is as good a description as any from an eater's perspective.
On both visits, we chose the short tasting menu which has 7 courses plus snacks at the beginning and petits fours at the end. They also served an extra course of a delicious risotto that they're considering for the menu ( they're quite experimental). Of the "courses" five were the same as on our first visit in February, and two were new to us . So you get to taste ten small dishes in all. Thats enough to satisfy us and both times we've left pleasantly replete but by no means stuffed. The thing I have to get across is that each one of those dishes is carefully conceived, perfectly executed and beautifully assembled and presented. This is food of the highest calibre, and I for one have never been to a restaurant where the food served here wouldn't be good enough. The service is perfectly paced , friendly, pleasant and explanatory. You get a menu at the end, by way of a souvenir.
Our meals, with coffee , a few glasses of wine each and service worked out at £around £110 a head. Certainly not cheap, but I'd suggest that for the variety and quality of the food we ate, it was good value. They deserve to do really well.