Old Haunts and New Restaurants in West london

Saturday, September 23rd , 2017

Stecca is an Italian restaurant near the Chelsea and Westminster hospital. The chef has a serious pedigree, having been a sous-chef at Zafferano and at other serious restaurants. The best dish was ricotta and sage ravioli, which had particularly good pasta and a nicely balanced filling. Also good was tagliolini with lobster, though a couple of the other dishes were not quite to the same level. Nonetheless this was a very pleasant meal, and worth a look if you are in the area.

La Trompette was the first Michelin-starred restaurant in Chiswick and really put the area on the culinary map. It has seen a number of chefs over the years but is on good form at present with its current head chef, who previously ran the kitchen at The Square. Trompette offers an affordable package, shunning luxury ingredients but having an appealing menu, while its wine list is one of the better ones in London, with a few bargains tucked away at the high end of the list.

I also had enjoyable meals at old favourite l’Amorosa and local haunt Taranatella. At l’Amorosa there was a particularly good prawn risotto, while the duck ragu with papardelle was also excellent, as was a tiramisu to finish. Tarantella is a simple family-run place local to me that does good pizza at pasta, and although it is not a destination restaurant, it has a certain friendly charm.

The new Michelin season began, with the 2018 Shanghai guide appearling.  This, the second guide to the city, elevated Ultraviolet to three stars. Shanghai now has thirty starred places in total.

Next week’s blog will cover my visit to Eugenie les Bains, where Michel Guerard has held three Michelin stars for forty consecutive years.