The titular chef has appeared on countless TV programmes (with the likes of Aldo Zilli and Paul Hollywood), not to mention opening restaurants from La Pasta to Fratelli La Bufala in London. His newest is called, a little clunkily, Tasting Sicily Enzo’s Kitchen, specialising in his native cuisine.
The tucked-away West End spot has just launched a new pre-theatre menu which is well-priced for its location off Haymarket. The dining room is long and slender, dominated by a colourful long counter, with flat screen showing dishes and scenic shots of Taormina by turn.
The set menu is short, with three choices each of starters and mains. The only real let down was bruschetta, the tomatoes cold and tasteless (why, in June?), although at least the garlic was out in force. An aubergine parmigiana inspired by Catanian cuisine was better, served room temperature, layered with a dark tomato sauce.
The mains? Actually fairly good, especially a chicken escalope, which is flattened with a hammer, said the chef when we asked, before being tenderised by lemon, and rolled in a little flour. Meatballs were also deeply flavourful – as they bloody well should be at a Sicilian restaurant – but I was disappointed there were only four of them.
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If you have time before the show (we combined it with catching the nearby musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie), it’s worth trying the traditional pudding, a little like panna cotta in consistency with a hint of cinnamon and scattered in toasted almonds. Wine is reasonably priced too for London, with house wine at £18.
