Ever wanted to dine on the set of a Stanley Kubrick film? Well say hello to Motorino, a big-budget mega resto in a humongous glass and concrete new build which we’re sure wasn’t there last time we were in the outer reaches of Fitzrovia, but seems like the kind of glossy superstructure where Google might set up an office.
If Motorino looks familiar, it’s not just because of its Eyes Wide Shut-meets-tech start-up energy, but because it’s a carbon copy of Covent Garden’s Town, which Motorino founder Stevie Parle opened earlier this year. The glossy dark woods; the strangely sexual Clockwork Orange-style space age interiors; the modern Italian-ish small plates menu; you can find much the same an 18 minute walk away on Drury Lane.
You probably shouldn’t tell your Italian friends they serve an agnolotti carbonara, but you should definitely order it
But Motorino has something its sibling doesn’t; one of London’s hype-iest chefs beavering away in the kitchen. That would be Luke Aherne, who recently left Marylebone’s rather lovely Lita after helping it to win a Michelin star less than a year after it opened.
Who knows why he left Lita in such a hurry, but Aherne has brought his juicy Southern Mediterranean skill-set with him. It starts with an indecently indulgent focaccia that manages to be salty yet sweet, crispy yet soft, and comes rampantly splashed with a rosemary balsamic that is nothing less than febrile. A bowl of pickles and ferments might look like a Birdseye frozen veg pack but it tastes anything but. Things really get going with a dainty dish of grilled Cornish sardines, lying spreadeagled on thinly sliced winter tomatoes. It is beauty, it is grace. A bluefin tuna carpaccio wrapped amongst melty corno pepper fronds is magnificently meaty, the fish cosplaying as steak tartare.
You probably shouldn’t tell your Italian friends that they serve an agnolotti carbonara, but you should definitely order it. This is pasta with something to prove, a big feather of guanciale laid on top of little pockets which spurt hot, cheesy juice into your mouth. Quite indiscreet. Mains are largely of the chop and steak persuasion, and our ribeye is nice, bobbing about in peppercorn (and with a chianti sauce on the side), but next time we’ll be ordering the slow-cooked Peposo beef cheek stew with polenta, because there’s only so much you can say about a good steak apart from that it’s good. Pink fir potatoes in a herb butter and with porchetta spice on the side could have been crisper.
Which brings us to pudding. Raspberry sorbet was tart, taste-bud puckering heaven, but the lemon meringue pie was unnecessarily deconstructed, the base crumbled into oblivion but with the creamy topping left as normal. Much like a man wearing a T-shirt with no pants, there was too much happening on the top and not enough down below.
The vibe Glossy statement dining in a flash Fitzrovia new-build.
The food They’re calling it ‘London-Italian’. Fishy starters, a solid pasta selection and lots of meat for mains.
The drink Cocktails from Satan’s Whiskers, including five kinds of Campari, a trio of Negronis, and four martinis - make ours a nutty La Noce.
Time Out tip There’s a spacious bar area at Motorino, which feels far from like you’re simply squatting in a restaurant. A good shout for a post-work sharpener if you’re in the area.