It hardly seems possible that London can support another restaurant, but restaurateurs Kanav Puri and Suraj Mehra are clearly banking on the city’s notoriously fickle diners to take to the newly minted Osteria 60.
Located in the Baglioni Hotel London fronting Kensington Gardens, the restaurant offers a culinary MO that is, no surprises here, Italian. However, head chef Ivan Simeoli’s stints with Oliver Peyton at the Royal Academy of Arts and The Wallace Collection have infused the menu with British seasonal ingredients. And so, for instance, a cut of Welsh wagyu arrives at the table with onions and sour carrots, or a steak tartare is tossed with a roasted shallot mayonnaise. The Italian influence dominates however and there is plenty to savour, not least risotto studded with San Marzano tomatoes and scented with smoked provolone, and veal accompanied by burnt gremolata.
Adding to the Italian flavours, the Milan-based interiors firm Rebosio + Spagnulo has crafted a grey and yellow dining room inspired by 1950s Milanese trattorias, that is bookended by a curlicued ceiling and a floor lined with a striking patchwork of black and white patterned tiles.
A pre-prandial drink at the chrome-lined bar sets the mood for a feast on the garden terrace, though it’s equally tempting to just stay put and nibble on lovely crisp arancini balls and bruschetta. If you ask nicely, the kitchen may well send out an Amalfi lemon tart nuzzled by a scoop of sorrel-scented sorbet.
