As an integral member of The River Café team – where he spent seventeen years as Head Chef – it would be fair to say that Theo Randall knows his stuff when it comes to cooking Italian food. After earning a Michelin star at The River Café, he set out on his own and launched Theo Randall at the Intercontinental Hotel in 2006 which is now considered one of the best Italian restaurants in London. And after trying it for ourselves, we’re not going to argue with that! When Italian food is done this well it really is hard to beat.
The evening started with beautiful fresh bruschetta and an Apermompelo cocktail made from gin, Aperol and grapefruit juice. A huge board of salami, prosciutto and pickled vegetables then arrived, plus a starter of juicy scallops, lentils and crunchy asparagus.
We’d heard great things about the pasta so decided to have this as a main (although you can have pasta and a main if you’re feeling brave). Capelletti di vitello was fresh pasta stuffed with slow cooked veal, pancetta and porcine mushrooms and was absolutely delicious, if incredibly rich. Perhaps even better was the parpadelle with slow cooked beef fillet in Chianti and San Marzano tomatoes – mamma mia! A selection of desserts including creamy pannacotta, citrus lemon tart and dense chocolate cake were all spot on but completely finished us off!
The restaurant itself is fairly luxurious – it’s in a five star hotel after all – but it’s pretty relaxed nonetheless, with friendly service and a good atmosphere. It’s definitely not cheap but if you love Italian food and fancy treating yourself then look no further. Just make sure you come hungry!
InterContinental London, 1 Hamilton Pl, London W1J 7QY
www.theorandall.com