Restaurants

By Elena Berton

According to a recent survey of holders of the exclusive American Express black card (available by invitation only to those who can afford to run up bills of at least £75,000 a year), Britain’s super-affluent are concerned about the economic downturn, but not enough to stop them spending on ‘life experiences’. That’s reassuring news for chef Francesco Mazzei’s new luxe Italian restaurant, which has just opened its usher-guarded doors on the City’s Shoreditch border for all-day eating.

Designed by minimalist architect Claudio Silvestrin, L’Anima (‘the soul’ in Italian) is a chic glass box with a rarefied atmosphere courtesy of high ceilings, subtle lighting and lily-white leather chairs, where the kitchen is visible, but not heard, behind glass partitions. Eager, attentive staff are on hand to navigate through the expanses of clear glass that separate the dining area from the bar (a godsend for short-sighted visitors) and the rather compact menu.

Mazzei, who hails from Calabria, the ‘toe’ of Italy, has privileged southern Italian flavours for contemporary dishes that share the same elegant, sleek look of the décor, but seems partial to the occasional nod to northern fare.

Starters, pasta and risotto dishes draw inspiration from the length of the whole Italian peninsula, ranging from a starter of buttery burrata, the soft-textured mozzarella-like cheese from Apulia, paired off with wood-roasted aubergine, to a textbook fritto misto, the deep-fried mixed seafood that is one of the landmarks of Venetian cuisine.

Main courses, however, lack the wow factor that their price tag may otherwise suggest. That was the case of a pleasant, but uninspiring fish stew with fregola, the couscous-like Sardinian pasta, costing a whopping £22. At £14.50, the slow-roasted black pig belly was far more reasonable, but the gluey texture of the crackling didn’t help it live up to expectations. Instead, the quirky, deliciously presented desserts are worth splurging on, especially a screwball concoction of roasted peach served floating in a passion fruit and lavender sauce, which hides a surprise core of amaretti, the Italian macaroon-like biscuits.

L’Anima is the place where City types on a generous expense accounts and affluent trend-setters will love being spotted flashing their black AmEx. Mere mortals will probably want to max out their nondescript plastic here only on special occasions.

Time Out Issue 1974: June 19-25 2008