A la Colthard/Sartoria – Savile Row
A very old friend of mine has his birthday close to mine. So it’s become our tradition to give each other lunch at restaurants of our choice. My friend chose Sartoria for his birthday yesterday. I thought it rang a bell and remembered that Alan Tanner is a member of a Fulham FC dining club that once convened there. It’s owned by D & D restaurants who acquired the Terence Conran chain. It’s had a makeover by designer David D’Almadi to create a terrace and buzzy bar that serves light snacks and head chef the rather dishy Francesco Mazzei, an expert on Calabrian cuisine, is at the helm.
My friend, as he orders there always, had burrata and spaghetti carbonara which I chose too. Burrata is definitely flavour of the month as you now see it on many menus. I have a feeling that la Petite Maison, another of our favourites which may well be my choice, was the introducer of this sweet white milky cheese. They served it on a bed of smoked aubergine puree and it was quite scrumptious.
Everyone knows Spahetti Carbonara. It appears as a ready made dish in the Italian section of most supermarkets. Years ago in a famous Hungarian/Italian restaurant in Florence called Tredici Gobbi (“13 hunchbacks”) I ate the best carbonara ever, where the egg yolk (unbroken) was placed atop the pasta. Normally in the supermarket and restaurant version the egg is curdled with cream and bits of bacon. Here the same egg yolk was present and the bacon was pancetta. Although this made the dish salty , it was the best carbonara I have tasted since Tredici Gobbi.
The sommelier is something of a character. Enormously obese, he must weigh 22 stone, he was helpful and witty. I presented my friend a high-end Bordeaux for his birthday as he likes his claret and the Sommelier in approving it said “It’s no good, leave it here”. As I wanted white as I had a meeting ahead of me (no, not that sort of liaison!!!!) and wanted to stay as alert as I could and my friend prefers red, we had 1/2 bottles of Gavi di gavi and Chianti classico. Although our dishes must have been on the cheaper side the bill was less than I expected for a premium Italian restaurant. We sat in space in comfy armchairs. One of my bete noires is the compacted table for two in a Italian restaurant in a tight adjoining row and we appreciated the seclusion and consequential privacy. Just as well too as our gossip does get a tad fruity !!!!
As to atmosphere the place was full and my friend thought this might be due to London Fashion Week. Sartorial means of course sartorial to reflect its location in Savile Row. Sartoria too is most bespoke.
