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New Italian Worth Trying


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If anyone is interested...

Paolo's a new modern Italian restaurant has just opened on Percy Street, just off Tottenham Court Road.

Head chef is Michele Franzolin has previously been at Zafferano with Locatelli and more recently head chef at Al Duca. Manager is from Isola. I was recommended by a friend who tells me the food was superb and extremely well priced (£20-25). I have seen no press coverage yet but assume that it is imminent as such people will entice the critics. This will probably result in a price increase and the usual drop in standard until they ge used to being busy.

I've booked for tomorrow and can't wait!!

Paolo's, 16 Percy Street. 020 7637 9900

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Logged on last night hoping for just such a last-minute post, and booked for the same evening. After a couple of decent if expensive drinks at Hakkasan, rolled up to Paolo's around 8.45. It has 50+ covers, of which maybe 5 were taken when we got there. At one point in the meal we were the only diners I think.

The menu is as follows. 2 courses £14.50; 3 £17.50; 4 £20.50. Single pasta course £8.50; single main £12.50.

Antipasti

Insalata Natalia / cos lettuce salad with parmesan shavings and dressing

Pomodorini e cornetti con formaggio di capra tiepido / french bean salad with marinated tomato and warm goat's cheese

Melanzane al forno con mozzarella di bufala e basilico / buffalo mozzarella with baked aubergines and basil

Lonza di maiale con rucola e cipolline al balsamico / smoked loin of pork with rocket salad, baby onions and balasmic dressing

Prosciutto di parma in carta da musica e ricotta affumicata / parma ham with sardinian music paper bread and smoked ricotta

Tagliata di tonno al limone e erbe aromatiche / thinly sliced tuna with lemon and aromatic leaves

Gamberoni saltati con zafferano e patate croccanti / pan-fried king prawns with crispy potatoes and saffron vinaigrette

Paste

Zuppa di ceci e fregola / chick pea soup with fregola

Reginette all'uovo con piselli e pancetta/home-made flat pasta with fresh peas and pancetta

Spaghetti al filetto di pomodoro e basilico/spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce, garlic and basil

Malloreddus con salsiccia, pomodoro e semi di finocchio / sardinian gnochetti with sausage, tomato sauce and fennel seeds

Tagliolini Paolo / home-made tagliolini with courgettes and black truffle

[i'm beginning to regret typing the whole thing out like this, but I can't stop now]

Ravioli con ricotta di bufala e melanzane / home-made ravioli filled with buffalo ricotta and aubergines

Linguine alle vongole / linguine with fresh clams, sweet chilli pepper and parsley

Risotto agli asparagi / risotto with asparagus and parmesan cheese

Secondi

Peto di pollo alla brace con zucchine in tecia / char-grilled breast of chicken with braised courgettes and mixed leaves

Fettinne di maiale ai ferri con fagioli bianchi / Char-grilled loin of pork with white beans and caper vinaigrette

Agnello alla griglia con peperonata / char-grilled leg of lamb with stewed peppers

Trancia di salmone al balasmico / pan-fried salmon with green beans and aged balsamic vinegar

Merluzzo con lenticchie e salsa al prezzemolo / roasted cod with lentils and parsley sauce

Contorni

Roast potatoes, stewed peppers, green beans, pan-fried spinach all £2.50

Mixed salad £3 / Rocket & parmesan salad £3.50

Dolci

Tiramisù

Torta al limone e mascarpone con lamponi freschi / home-made lemon tart with mascarpone and fresh raspberries

Gelato alla vaniglia con salsa al cioccolato e polpa di cocco / vanilla ice-cream with fresh coconut and chocolate sauce

Torta al cioccolato con gelato al pistacchio / home-made chocolate cake with pistachio ice-cream

Selezione di formaggo / selection of farmhouse cheeses

The menu, not a particularly interesting one, is strikingly similar to that at Il Forno in Frith Street. I don't know if there's any close connection, although isn't Al Duca in the same group as IF? Anyway, at current prices Paolo is much better value, and to my memory the cooking here is substantially superior. I had the tagliata di tonno, which could easily have been rather flavourless and drab of texture, but in fact turned out very well indeed -- excellent fish on perfectly-dressed salad.

I've had the same reginette dish at IF (and thought it not bad), but here it was several notches up (and considerably richer, so that the proffered parmesan would have been overkill). Very good, fresh pasta, pureed and whole peas, quite a bit of butter. My companion had the tagliolini with courgettes and black truffle, which was obviously good value, rich, and pungent.

After this had no room for pudding (nothing cried out from the menu anyway). With a perfectly decent bottle of Cabernet (£16.50 from a moderate wine list), coffee, water, limoncello and service, £65.25. About which it's really impossible to complain.

What with them having little else to do, we had long conversations with the waiter and manager, who told us the place had been nearly full the night before. They've been open about six weeks and deserve to be doing better; Percy Street is hardly a place for passing trade.

A substantial part of our conversation with the manager (Sergio, I think, although having had several drinks by then I wouldn't swear to it) concerned the room, which they know they have a problem with. It certainly sends the wrong signals, and reminded me strongly of PizzaExpress, or the latter's pasta chain offshoot, the name of which escapes me: marble table tops, creamy-orangey decor, huge mirrors, etc. That the marble and mirror frames are from Italy and hugely expensive doesn't affect that. Other minor issues: the menu's printed funnily so many words seem to have spaces in the middle (distracting, and strangely not a problem with the copy they gave me to take away); wasn't wild about the bread (served with oil and balsamic for dipping); coffee could have been a bit better.

But the cooking is very good, it's extremely good value, and I hope they evolve and survive.

Drinks afterwards at 23 Romilly Street. What is this place?

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I will definitely be checking this place out in short order.

On the lack of business side, it helps to keep in mind that the Fitrovia area gets a lot more weekday evening and lunch business than weekend business. Almost all of the better mid-priced establishments (particularly those which are not located on the well travelled Charlotte Street) are busier during the week, as are the better pubs. Places like Sardo's, Giardineto's, the Fitzroy Tavern, Ragam, L'Etoile, even Passione, are almost always packed on Tues, Wed and Thursday nights, but are often much less so during the weekend. I have been able to book twice at Passione two/three hours before a Saturday evening dinner.

So, what's my point? Two points, one, if a restaurant in that area is not busy on a weekend evening, one should not take that as a signal regarding the restaurant's quality, and two, one should not be as concerned regarding the restaurant's viability. Now if its not busy on Thursday, that's a different issue.

All, in all though, I am very excited. I have a friend in town and like Kikujiro, have been racking my brain for a new, reasonably priced place to check out.

Thomas Secor

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An amusing tidbit with respect to Toptable and Paolo:

"Paolo, London W1 (Goodge Street) - Simple and fresh in its décor with granite tabletops, lovers of 'la cucina italiana' flock here. So go enjoy 2 courses for £14.50, 3 courses for £17.50 or 4 for £20.50. 1 pasta dish is £8.50 or a main course is £12.50. Offer ends 12th September."

http://www.toptable.co.uk/details.cfm?rcode=B949

The above offer seems identical to what Kikujuro reported, without having mentioned Toptable (?).

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