Latest news with #OsteriaAngelina
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Osteria Angelina, London E1: ‘There's a lot to adore' – restaurant review
One undeniable fact about Angelina, which has just opened a second site in Spitalfields, east London, is that in the now mini-group's relatively short existence, they've singlehandedly made the phrase 'Italian-Japanese restaurant' seem a much more normal thing to say. Patently, Angelina Mark 1 over in Dalston was not the first time in culinary history that Milan met Tokyo over the stoves, that miso met pasta, that truffle met sushi, and so on; hungry people have always travelled, merged cuisines and messed about with flavours. Still, the original Angelina's kaiseki-style tasting menu, where chawanmushi (savoury egg custard) is served with datterini tomatoes, and pastas are topped with furikake, was clearly interesting enough to attract the attention of Michelin. Its new sister, Osteria Angelina, is darkly chic, spacious (handy for group dining) and tucked away down a side road on the Norton Folgate development close to Shoreditch overground station (fans of the Sri Lankan restaurant Kolomba on Kingly Street near Oxford Circus will find a second outpost, Kolomba East, in the same area, and Noisy Oyster, from the people behind Firebird, will soon be joining them). To give credit where its due, Norton Folgate is a refreshingly beautiful restoration project, where spruced-up Edwardian, Georgian and Victorian buildings mix with new-builds to create a little slice of sedate elegance away from the bottomless brunch, Box Park hellscape that is modern Shoreditch. Escape the main drag, hop into Osteria Angelina, sit up at the marble bar in front of the open kitchen and order snacks of pizza nera topped with moromi, a rich fermented soy paste, or a salad of zucchini and shiso leaves with ricotta. From the number of people eating here just two weeks after it opened, this cultural clash clearly has its fans. What Osteria Angelina's Japanese customers, with their relatively orderly rules of social conduct and deference, make of the place's excessively animated Italian servers, however, is one for the anthropology books. All this, I guess, is smoothed over by the likes of the nori-topped focaccia and the small, sweet mini-loaf of Hokkaido milk bread, the very memory of which has me salivating; that's served with a kumquat reduction – OK, let's call it jam – and a puddle of burnt honey butter. After the pane and insalate sections, the menu moves on to fritti and crudo. We ordered a plate of hot-as-hell tempura'd courgette flowers stuffed generously with miso ricotta. Crudo is so often a disappointment, but here the bream is cured in kombu and doused in yet more burnt butter, making it rather wickedly appealing. Hamachi sashimi was also very good, and smothered in truffled soy and furikake. Dinner here could easily be made up purely of a collection of these small plates and some bread to mop up the exquisite oils, but that would mean missing out on the fresh agnolotti and tortellini. The pasta offering changes frequently, but expect the likes of immensely comforting fazzoletti with a rich duck ragu and lotus, crab and sausage-filled agnolotti and whelk risotto with burnt soy butter. Larger meaty and fishy things, meanwhile, are grilled in front of you on binchō-tan coals behind the bar. Tongue with wasabi, anyone? Or, more simply, some Brixham skate wing or a Blythburgh pork chop? Angus steak comes rare, drenched in miso butter, alongside our side order of NamaYasai greens and an extra portion of tsukemono pickles. There's a lot to adore about all of this cooking; it's generous, oily, saucy and certainly not to be eaten every day. Every plate we tried swam in some variation on spiced, seasoned, miso-flecked oil that would have been a terrible waste to consign to the dishwasher. How about some more bread and the remnants of that house ponzu? Wait, they're taking away the delicious white balsamic dressing that came with the tempura agretti? No, stop! In fact, the only thing that left me slightly cold, other than the damned uncomfortable chairs with backrests so far back that you're almost lying down, was the brulee'd black sesame cheesecake with milk ice-cream, which, though visually interesting – dark, gloomy, stodgy – had about it the air of something that had been mass-produced, in much the same way as a Pizza Express cheesecake probably wasn't made by chef's nonna that morning, but rather came out of a packet from the freezer. Next time – and there will be a next time – I'll go for the genmaicha purin and kinako green tea rice pudding. Osteria Angelina shouldn't work, but it absolutely does. It will also offend purists everywhere, but being upset has never been so delicious. Osteria Angelina 1 Nicholls & Clarke Yard (off Blossom Street), London E1, 020-4626 6930. Open lunch Tues-Sun, 12.15-2.30pm (noon-3pm Sat & Sun); dinner 5.15-10.30pm (9.30pm Tues, Weds & Sun). From about £50 a head à la carte, plus drinks and service
Time Out
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Photograph: Angelina Previous Next /10
Japanese and Italian may seem unlikely bedfellows, but this mash-up – also known as itameshi – dates back to the 1920s in Japan. And though Angelina opened up on Dalston Lane Terrace's restaurant strip in 2019, it's still a pretty unique concept in London. Inside, it's a restaurant of two halves: the front is all monochromatic fancy dining with ashen marble tables, bold foliage and lantern lighting, while the back is home to a bustling L-shaped bar overlooking the kitchen. On offer is a 13 dish kaiseki tasting menu for what feels like a rather reasonable £68 a head. Though it changes every five weeks, our most recent visit saw the production line of laser-focused chefs rattling out creamy and crispy (and pleasantly sizable) starters, such as cod cheek karaage and tempura courgette flower stuffed with miso ricotta. Fun to eat and even more enjoyable to say is the wagyu ragu, which comes layered on a pleasantly goopy dashi and egg custard. A nori-dusted focaccia is a revelation, served with a marmalade and uni butter that tastes like breakfast in the best possible way. There's more wagyu to come, slivers of A5 dolloped with citrus ponzu, before a ravioli souped in a tonkotsu-style broth. Previous visits have seen velvety soy butter on a John Dory fillet, sea bream sashimi delicately infused with bergamot, and bonito-dusted doughnuts with anchovy aioli. Time Out tip If you fancy an a la carte taste of itameshi, Angelina have a second space in Spitalfields. Osteria Angelina specialises in pasta, with the likes of tortellini with truffle and kombu, and ravioli with soy cured egg yolk and asparagus on the menu. There's also a whole selection of crudo and fritti as well as dishes cooked on the binchotan grill. What should I drink?
Time Out
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
The 12 best new London restaurant openings in May 2025
For some reason, restauranteurs across the capital have been saving up all their new openings for May. We have no idea why, but we're here for it. As well as stand-alone spots and independent outings, there are also a handful of non-rubbish chains launching new sites this month, with a new Bancone promised for Kensington, the biggest ever Black Bear Burger opening up in Westfield White City and a new outing for e5 Bakehouse at the V&A East Storehouse in Hackney Wick. Frankly, there aren't enough days in May for us to visit all of them, so you might have to be picky. Here are some of the best – choose your foodie fighter. The best new London restaurant openings in May 2025 1. The super-sustainable spot Town, Covent Garden There's nowt so buzzy as regenerative farming right now. Town, a new central London spot from Pastaio's Stevie Parle, is all about sustainable British produce, from potato bread with beef dripping and tempura sage leaves drizzled in chilli and honey from Stevie's own bees, to Seasalter clams with sherry and grass-fed butter, and wood-grilled Romney Marsh hogget with Chianti and anchovy butter. 'Town is the biggest, most ambitious project I've ever done. We are helping to pioneer a genuinely new approach to restaurant supply chains, built on knowing every farmer who grows what we cook,' says Stevie. Town opens May 12. 26-29 Drury Lane, WC2B 5RL 2. The one with the views Setlist, Strand Somerset House 's riverside space is getting a slick rebrand as an al fresco listening bar (I know! Another one!!!), It's all in celebration of the venue's 25th year as a cutting-edge arts venue. With James Dye of Bambi, Frank's and the Camberwell Arms and Clement Ogbonnaya of the Prince of Peckham on board, there'll be a custom soundsystem as well as a full-throttle events programme, as well as food with a focus on female chefs such as Opeoluwa Odutayo, Sophie Wyburd, and Terri Mercieca of Happy Endings. The views across the river remain impeccable. Strand, WC2R 1LA 3. Pasta by way of Japan Osteria Angelina, Spitalfields The team behind Dalston's ever-intriguing Angelina is opening up a second spot near Shoreditch. Osteria Angelina will do the same Japanese-Italian fusion thing, with eight regular pasta dishes, a focus on binchotan fired grill dishes and oodles of antipasti, crudi and fritti. Expect a serious grappa list, too. It opens May 20. 1 Nicholl's Clarke Yard, off Blossom Street, E1 6SH 4. The brilliant bakery Panadera, Soho A small tear ran down Time Out's cheek when Panadera closed its Kentish Town bakery last year, but little did we know that plans were in place to move the Filipino bakehouse up west. Florence Mae Maglanoc just launched the brand new Panadera flagship in Soho with a bigger, broader menu that takes in café specials from further afield in east and southeast Asia. Sign us up for the longanisa sausage roll and ube pan suisse. Open now. 3 Hopkins St, W1F 0HS 5. The breakfast burrito graveyard Bad Manners, Shoreditch You might remember Mexican street food slingers Bad Manners from their last graveyard; St John at Hackney Churchyard. This sublime shack has now upped sticks to hang out by the headstones of Shoreditch Church, but will continue to serve the finest hangover cure in east London, as well as a new menu from chef Rodrigo Cervantes that features the likes of a blood orange rib barbacoa burrito. It opens May 7. Shoreditch Church, 119 Shoreditch High St, E1 6JN 6. The new-wave Caribbean takeaway Marvee's Food Shop, Ladbroke Grove First; the adorable part – Marvee's is named after chef Dom Taylor 's mum, Marveline. Opening April 30, Dom describes his new project as a 'playful, soulful nod to the classic Caribbean takeaway', which means plenty of Jamaican patties, bammy flatbreads, fried festival dumplings, and jerk chicken. UNDR, 3-5 Thorpe Close, W10 5XL 7. The gourmet chicken shop Norbert's, East Dulwich 'Rotisserie chicken, wine and cocktails'. What's not to like? Norbert's comes from restauranter John Ogier (Lyle's and The Marksman) and chef Jack Coghlan (Planque) – a small, 20-seat spot where chicken is king. So much so that there'll be a margarita with a chicken salt rim on offer. 5-6 Melbourne Terrace, Melbourne Grove, SE22 8PL 8. Another Basque banger Duchy, Shoreditch The British obsession with Basque cuisine isn't over yet. Chef Simon Shand has returned to the site of his old stomping ground, the dearly departed Leroy, for the brand new Duchy. Inspired by a trip to San Sebastián, the Med-heavy menu will feature the likes of pork shoulder and smoked eel croquettes, brown crab arancini; and anchovies with lardo on marjoram toast. Expect a bevvy of bagna cauda. Duchy opens May 8. 18 Phipp St, Shoreditch, EC2A 4NU 9. A Carnaby-adjacent French wine bar Marjorie's, Soho Ever been strolling down Carnaby Street, and, fed up with dodging influencers making vox pops for TikTok, really, really wanted a drink, but would rather avoid the humiliation of a tourist trap like the Shakespeares Head? Marjorie's might be the answer. A tribute to exceedingly chic Parisian bar à vins, there'll be plenty of juicy reds and a menu stacked full of escargot, tartlets and bavette, as prepared by head chef Giacomo Peretti (ex-Le Gavroche, Temper, Firebird and The Culpeper). It's opening late May. 26 Foubert's Place, Soho, W1F 7PP 10. All-day deliciousness in south London Hello JoJo, Camberwell From FM Mangal through to the Camberwell Arms (not to mention Veraison Wines, Falafel & Shawarma, Nandine, Silk Road and etc), it's impossible not to eat well on Camberwell Church Street. Now a new contender steps into the fray in the old Forza Wine site; Hello JoJo is an all-day resto/bakery with head chef Will Faris whipping up smoked potato dumplings with spring greens and Tamworth pork chop with garlic sauce and head baker Jo Garner doing daytime honey buns, bacon sarnies and chocolate rye swiss roll from 8am. 31 Camberwell Church St, SE5 8TR 11. The old master returns Locatelli, Charing Cross You thought you'd heard the last of Giorgio Locatelli after his Michelin-rated Locanda Locatelli closed at the start of 2025? Think again! Locatelli will be opening in the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery on May 10. The menu will be packed full of classic Italian dishes and plenty of pasta, from pappardelle with broad beans, pecorino and rucola to braised veal ravioli with parsley gremolata. There'll also be Bar Giorgio, an espresso bar with a mini 'maritozzi' pastry menu. The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DN 12. The one with a fire fetish Pyro, Borough Chef Yiannis Mexis's debut restaurant is all about big old flame-cookery and Greek flavour. Mexis knows what he's doing – the former head chef at Hide has also done time at The Ledbury, Elystan Street and Petrus – and his own menu will lean into high end spanakopita and souvlaki. Cocktails have been devised by Ana Reznik (A Bar With Shapes For A Name) and there'll be an open-air garden which should be pretty vibey during the summer. Pyro opens May 1.
