Mortimer House Kitchen

It’s hard not to be struck by Mortimer House’s slick art deco styling as you walk through the doors of this polished Fitzrovia members’ club. The long dining room stretches far into the distance, a mish-mash of herringbone parquet floor, stout aspidistras and vintage furniture and pleasantly-worn rugs. On the left, well-dressed Fitzrovians are perched at the bar sharing a glass of wine. It’s all very serene, measured and pleasant - carefully styled to suit all sorts.

Like at sister club 1 Warwick, the downstairs restaurant is open to the public whilst the rest of the club remains for members only. 1 Warwick head chef Tom Cenci - with the former now fairly well-established - has shifted his attention to Mortimer House Kitchen, conjuring a new menu that takes influence from his own holidays in Amalfi, with some Italo-American crowd pleasers thrown in for good measure. It’s the latter that will become most synonymous with Mortimer House Kitchen, particularly a hulking slab of chicken parmigiana, generously draped in melted cheese and marinara sauce. What’s not to like, frankly? It comes alongside a bowl of fresh egg spaghetti, naked except for a cured egg yolk on top, and though utterly incongruous it is absolutely delicious.

Mortimer House gets most of the rest right too. We’re all for a section dedicated to scarpetta, i.e. plates of things to dip and swirl your bread in, especially when the focaccia is this good. We also recommend the zucchini Caesar salad, where Cenci works more magic with twists on classics (a suitable follow up to his excellent celeriac carbonara at Nessa, though Italian purists may disagree). That said, the experience isn’t perfect - a beef sirloin was nicely cooked but could have used more salt, and a plate of calamarata pasta with prawns and tomato didn’t quite deliver flavour-wise either. For the most part, though, Mortimer House Kitchen is a safe pair of hands with some real highlights to dig into, and an excellent, compact drinks list to match.

Although it's part of private members' club Mortimer House, Mortimer House Kitchen - this chic all-day Italian - is open to the general public, and celebrates the nostalgia of Italian cooking. Here, just around the corner from Oxford Circus, the menu takes cues from the Amalfi Coast holidays, with an offering that spans breakfast, lunch, Sunday roasts, kids' plates, dinner, and all kinds of feasting.

Mortimer House is part of the Maslow’s group of members’ clubs, which also includes 1 Warwick in Soho. Inside, Mortimer House Kitchen has the same sophisticated art deco style as Nessa, featuring vintage art deco furniture as well as original parquet floor and an assortment of comfortable dining chairs, sofas and lounge chairs. The dining room extends from a lounge area at the front to a large dining area towards the back, with more seating around the side and an open kitchen at the rear. There is also a bar along the side of the room where guests can order from a separate bar menu, or just drop in for a drink.

The Mortimer House Kitchen menu champions the joyful simplicity of Italian cooking and family-style dining, always using the best British and Italian produce. The main menu kicks off with cicchetti, offering the likes of crispy polenta with n'duja meyo, mushroom arancini, stracciatella, and housemade focaccia. Then, for antipasti, choose from beef carpaccio with Grana Padano and rocket, burrata with fig, radicchio tardivo and pomegranate, and octopus salad with tomato and Taggiasca olives.

Primi, meanwhile, might include spaghetti puttanesca, Sardinian gnocchi with chicken offal ragu, or pumpkin ravioli with chestnut and sage. For secondi, expect beef and oregano meatballs, seabass al Cartoccio with mussels and prawns, and parmigiana di Melanzane. To accompany, contorni include tomato, rocket and ricotta salad, roast potatoes with rosemary salt, and cavolo nero seasoned with garlic and chilli.