Restaurants

Risotto is one of the simple yet infinitely flexible dishes that have made Italian cuisine so globally popular. Given the grossly over-saturated market for the other major exports in that category pizza and pasta its a wonder that Ooze is the first venture to concentrate solely on different permutations of gooey rice. Youll soon forget the dubiously anatomical name once youre seated in the clean, contemporary dining room: bright and white with the odd dash of colour. More colourful still are the risottos, over a dozen of which are available at any time (specials add to that number). It would usually be too difficult for a restaurant to have so many different pots of risotto ready-to-serve simultaneously, but a clever method, involving part-cooking batches in advance, is employed to great success. On a recent visit, a mixed seafood risotto with tomato and courgette chunks was a delectable highlight. Bland, rather homogeneous cubes of chicken breast let down an otherwise tasty dish with tarragon and red peppers. These risottos arent the finest in the world, but theyre undeniably tasty, cooked in the correct way with just the right amount of bite, and supplemented by some fantastic salads and desserts. Ooze is an attractive and reasonably priced addition to the West Ends eating options.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008