How do you feel about maximalism? If the answer is that you are bad, incredibly bougie, like truffle pasta, enjoy eating your meals in pristine candlelit rooms, and love visiting marble toilets that are bigger than your London bedroom, then you’ve come to the right place.
Il Borro, on Berkley Street, has taken over what was once the site of Nobu. Il Borro means ‘the gorge’ in Italian and is also a real place in Tuscany: a medieval hamlet at the source of the Arno River which (for the history heads) has been inhabited for more than a thousand years by the Etruscans, the Medici family and Alessandro dal Borro, Field Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire, known as the ‘Terror of the Turks’.
The food and drink is all sourced from this part of Tuscany, which is known for both its deep gorges – or borri – and the produce that it spawns: wine, chestnuts, durum wheat, wild boar. Today, the 750-hectare organic Il Borro estate is owned by the Ferragmo family and the Mayfair restaurant is a minimal cream-hued outpost for their farm-to-table vision. Hearty Italian cooking but make it glamorous, this is exactly what you’d expect from the West End: women with immaculate blow dries, first dates and people who appear to be having business dinners fill the restaurant.
Hearty Italian cooking but make it glamorous
Like nearby Murano (Angela Harnett) this is modern Italian dining. To begin, butter-like carpaccio di manzo (raw, thinly sliced beef tenderloin) arrives with rocket leaves, Parmesan and almond flakes in a honey mustard dressing which I devoured because my dinner companion is pregnant.
Unable to eat raw meat, my pregnant friend asks for a ‘surprise’ and is delivered beetroot carpaccio with soft goat cheese and pistachios as well as a non-alcoholic ‘bellinio’ cocktail garnished with fresh rosemary instead from the bar. I ask for wine but not fruity. I am told to drink an eponymous Il Borro red wine from the estate. It’s dry, spicy and full.
Other starters sampled include vitello tonnato – thinly sliced veal with sharp tuna sauce, roasted hazelnuts, cranberries and celery as well as just salty enough bresaola. Next, we had linguine all’astice (lobster linguine). The lobster itself was Canadian but it was served with Tuscan olives. At the same time, we tried tagliatelle al tartufo – homemade tagliatelle with Umbrian black truffle and Parmesan.
We begged the team not to bring us any more food as we were stuffed, but Italian hospitality overruled our straining stomachs. We ate peposo dell’Impruneta – traditional Tuscan braised beef, tomato and black pepper sauce served with crunchy rosemary polenta. Don’t be fooled by Il Borro’s refined interior – this is a place intended for eating, really eating.
The vibe A special night out for someone you’re trying to impress.
The food Classic Italian fare but fancy schmancy stuff.
The drink Heaven-sent wines and accommodating options for those not consuming booze.
Time Out tip? Il Borro also makes their own dessert wine and the Il Borro Vin Santo is legit.