Zafferano

Zafferano was a regular haunt of mine many years ago when Andy Needham was at the stoves and it had a Michelin star. Andy moved on to his own restaurant l’Amorosa, the standard of food here dropped a bit and I came less often. Recently Andy’s former sous chef Daniel Camera has returned to Zafferano and taken over the reins in the kitchen. The Zafferano dining room has less crowded tables than in the old days in these new pandemic times, and there is also a terrace with seating and heaters outside. Your temperature is taken as you enter, and we were a good distance away from the nearest diners this evening.

I started with tagliatelle with duck ragu, the pasta having very good texture. The ragu itself was good, though for me it could have had even deeper flavour (14/20). Minestrone soup had plenty of depth of flavour and was carefully seasoned (14/20). This was the beginning of the white truffe season, so we both opted for tagliolini with shavings of white truffle (this dish was £55). The pasta had gorgeous, buttery texture, and the fragrance of the white truffles filled the dining room as they were shaved over the pasta at the table (16/20).

Cheesecake had pleasing texture, the fruit smeared on the top being a mixture of sour cherries and strawberries, along with a coating of pistachios. On the side was a scoop of sour cherry ice cream that was silky smooth (14/20). Rum baba is not the easiest dish to make, as it dries out very easily, but here it had good texture and a generous but not overwhelming amount of rum, topped with strawberries and cream (15/20). Coffee was from Drury and came with some pleasant petit fours. 

Service was charming and professional, as it always seems to be here. The bill came to £120 per person with a couple of drinks. Obviously the truffes for two bumped the price up a bit, but if you had three courses without supplement and shared a modest bottle of wine then a typical cost per person might be around £90; you are, after all, in Belgravia. Zafferano definitely feels back on form since Daniel Camera took over the kitchen.  

Further reviews: 04th Dec 2021 | 31st May 2021 | 03rd Nov 2020 | 31st Aug 2020 | 20th Dec 2019 | 07th Sep 2016 | 20th Oct 2014 | 08th May 2013 | 24th Sep 2012