WORDS
SARAH LANE, SOPHIE BICHENER
RESTAURANT PHOTO
O ARCHITECTURE
My taste of Verona
by ferruccio girelli consolaro
The Ape & Bird
London
|
Traditional British
The people who brought the UK capital
some of the most-talked about
restaurants of recent years (Polpo
and Mishkin’s, for instance) have now
brought their skills to the gastro-pub
scene, promising hearty comfort food.
Think blood pudding hash, Scotch egg
with celeriac fries and devilled kidneys
on toast served with draft craft beers.
In the heart of the West End, this could
be your perfect go-to for a pre- or
post-theatre stop.
La Bloempot
Lille
|
Modern Flemish
The phrase ‘less is more’ is particularly
fitting at this second offering from
Florent Ladeyn, this year’s runner-up in
the French edition of the popular TV
series
Top Chef
. Though the highly
anticipated menu only contains four
starters, four main courses and four
desserts, it means each dish is likely to
get the love and attention it deserves
– or there’s nowhere for the food to hide.
The Standard
Copenhagen
|
Various
Right on the city’s waterfront, in the old
custom house, Noma co-founder Claus
Meyer is combining a trendy jazz
venue with three individual restaurants:
Studio is headed up by former Noma
chef Torsten Vildgaard; Verandah will
serve up contemporary pan-Indian
cuisine; while Almanak sticks to
delectable, traditional Danish food.
“some of my earliest memories
of
cooking involve watching my father,
busy in the kitchen with an old recipe
book in his hand. I’ve inherited
his passion for cooking as
well as that recipe book –
it’s 100 years old now!
“I began my career at
Verona’s famous Bottega del
Vino (
bottegavini.it
) when I was
just 15. I must have enjoyed it,
as I’ve now ended up
back with the boss
– Gianni Pascucci – at the Ristorante
Ponte Pietra (
ristorantepontepietra.
com
), adjacent to the ancient Roman
bridge. I like to take local recipes
apart and put them back
together with a twist.
Verona’s typical gnocchi, for
example, are reinterpreted in
the Bon Bon antipasto,
where the
gnocchi is
made with
buffalo
ricotta and baked rather than boiled.
“For purely traditional Veronese
food, I’d go to Trattoria al Pompiere
(
alpompiere.tv
), where the menu
includes my favourite local recipe,
guancia brasata
(beef cheek braised
in Amarone), and a huge range of
cheeses and salami.
“For an authentic aperitivo, rather
than the busy bars on Piazza Erbe,
seek out one of the city’s historic
taverns, such as Osteria Sottoriva
(9a Via Sottoriva, +39 045 5801 4323)
.”
The Italian chef known for creative takes on traditional recipes shares his favourite restaurants
La Bloempot in Lille will
feature a contemporary,
pared-back look
N E W
O P E N I N G S
1 0 6
V I E W P O I N T S
