There are some restaurants where you tell yourself you’ll just pop in for lunch, and then somehow, two hours later, you’re still sitting there with another drink in front of you, wondering where the afternoon went. San Carlo Cicchetti is very much one of those places. And with the launch of La Piccola Estate, it has somehow made it even easier to lose track of time. The concept naturally lends itself to a proper girl dinner – no pressure to sit down for a huge meal or commit to three courses, just pick a few plates, share them across the table and see where the evening takes you. Add a couple of spritzes, a beautiful setting and a few hours of catching up, and you have pretty much everything you need for a perfect evening in London. It feels relaxed and spontaneous, but still has that polished Cicchetti touch that makes the whole thing feel a little more special.
Right in the heart of Picadilly, Cicchetti has managed to create the perfect environment of glamorous and that hearty Italian feeling. The decor is gorgeous, with plenty of character and a stylish, intimate atmosphere that makes the restaurant feel like somewhere you want to stay for a while. It’s polished, with character and class, and there’s a lovely energy running through the room. The staff were friendly, attentive and genuinely accommodating throughout the meal, they made the whole experience feel relaxed rather than overly formal. Nothing felt rushed, which, when you’re having an Italian lunch, is exactly how it should be.
We were there to try the new Menu Fisso, which offers three dishes for £23.95. The idea is simple: choose three plates and enjoy a little bit of everything. We started with the Burrata, which was creamy, fresh and exactly what you want from the beginning of an Italian meal. We paired it with the Parma ham and marinated black truffle, and it was the sort of dish that disappeared from the table rather quickly. The Tartare di Tonno was another favourite. Fresh tuna mixed with olive oil, lemon, mustard and wild rocket, prepared at the table, which added a nice bit of theatre to the meal. Light, fresh and beautifully presented, it was one of those dishes where you could happily order another round. Then came the Agnello. The grilled lamb cutlets were marinated with sundried tomato and thyme and packed with flavour without being too heavy. A proper main course, but still very much in keeping with the sharing style approach of the menu. We also tried the Lemon Sole, served with capers and brown shrimp. It was a little lighter and had that lovely combination of richness and sharpness from the capers. Both mains disappeared quickly, which probably tells you everything you need to know. And then came the difficult part: deciding whether we actually had room for dessert. The Tiramisu was the classic choice and lived up to expectations. Rich, creamy and comforting, it was exactly the sort of dessert you tell yourself you’ll only have a few bites of before accidentally finishing the whole thing. The Torta Pistacchio was perhaps the bigger temptation.
The famous pistachio tart was rich and indulgent, with that unmistakable pistachio flavour, and made a very good argument for why dessert should never be skipped.
Beyond the new lunch menu, Cicchetti also has its I Grand Piatti, which takes the sharing concept up a notch with larger dishes designed to sit proudly in the middle of the table. There’s something very Italian about the whole approach – order too much, put everything in the middle and let everyone have a bit of everything. And really, that’s what Cicchetti gets right. It doesn’t feel like somewhere you come simply to eat. It feels like somewhere you come to spend time. The beautiful interiors make you want to linger, the atmosphere has just the right amount of buzz, and the staff make you feel genuinely welcome.