Restaurants

By Guy Dimond

Ah, the joys of a good neighbourhood trattoria. Chiselled waiters in trembling black trousers; cheerful banter among the staff; a manager who could do a cameo in ‘The Sopranos’. Il Baretto has the the sort of comfortable, low-lit interior that makes you want to uncork a Super Tuscan, buy an olive grove and start driving around on a Vespa.

Il Baretto looks like it’s been here forever. Not surprising, as an Italian’s been on this site since a young Giorgio Locatelli was still in short trousers. Yet the current owner, Arjun Waney, only took over in April.

The starters showed the skill of the kitchen from the start. Calamari was perfectly tender and served piping hot in a paper cone to soak up the grease. It captured all that’s good about Italian cooking: simple, fresh, great ingredients, no fuss. Much the same was true of a big dollop of soft polenta, looking like yellow porridge, topped with the sautéed mushrooms that Italians call ‘nails’ (‘chiodi’).

Penne with tomato and spicy Italian sausage is a simple dish to create at home, except here they’re using proper nduja sausage from Calabria. It’s a soft, spicy meat which can be spread like a pâté; or in this case, mixed into the tomato sauce to give it real kick.

If you’re in celebratory mood, there’s a grill where they can cook up some langoustines at £23 – an idea borrowed from the Japanese robata grills that Il Baretto’s owner installed in his fashionable Japanese restaurants, Zuma and Roka.
Order one of the traditional desserts; the bonet, perhaps. This is a flan from northern Italy which resembles a crème caramel, with an amaretti-rich layer and, in this case, a scoop of excellent caramel ice-cream.

The service is Italian at its best: professional, well-drilled, brisk. The wine list highlights some of southern Italy’s rising-star white grape varieties, such as Falanghina, Greco di Tufo and Fiano, while reds come from better-known northern regions such as Veneto and Tuscany. All the wines are from good producers; the quality’s there, but we’d like to see a larger choice. And much bigger pepper grinders, if they’re to fit the stereotype.

Time Out London Issue 2023: May 28-June 3 2009