With a quirky yet unassuming entrance, walking into Orso makes you curious as to what you should expect. And boy, what a treat you are in for!
Downstairs, the restaurant is rocking! A mellow mustard interior is decorated with black and white photographs of famous Italian stars. The place celebrates all that is quintessentially Italian and, being in the midst of theatre land, everything that breathes culture. Even the waiters sway slightly as they navigate through the ocean of tables with diners flapping their arms here and there. The place is alive.
My companion and I are seated and within moments, it seems, the restaurant is full. The jovial waiters suggest a couple of appetizers to whet our appetite, accompanied by the traditional prosecco. A delicious mountain of Carta Di Musica – Italian Flat Bread with Garlic or Rosemary – is placed before us, with the two flavours creating an incredibly addictive appetizer. A plate full of zucchini – or fried courgettes – was simple too, yet oh so yummy.
The waiter suggests a beautifully smooth rose to accompany our choices, a 2013 Pinot Grigio ‘Ramato’, Il Barco, from the Veneto region. Most people are familiar with white pinot grigio and it was our first time tasting it in a rose form. Subtly perfumed with the scent of roses, and slightly smoky, it was a beautifully delicate wine with less of an acidic nature than other pinots. An elegant, versatile choice and an absolute must try!
The extensive wine list is impressive too, with various wines from different regions of Italy.
Our starters were the Carpaccio Di Polpo – Octopus Carpaccio with olive oil and lemon and the Vitello Tonnato, the traditional Italian roast veal with tuna dressing and fried capers. The octopus carpaccio was delicate and tasty, with the perfect amount of dressing to coat the fish. The vitello tonnato, with delicate slithers of veal adorned with delicious fried capers was good, although, in our opinions, no match for the real Italian deal.
What we enjoyed most about Orso was our mains. After satisfying, but a little lacklustre starters, the next bout of food (and until the end) was truly first class and worth coming to Orso just for this. Our mains were the Pesce Spada, grilled swordfish with caponata and the Branzino, sea bass fillet, with green beans, new potato, cherry tomato, and black olive salad. The pieces de resistance! When coupled with the smooth and delicious rose, both were utterly divine. The swordfish was delicately grilled to perfection with the most simplest of dressing – salt, pepper and lemon – allowing the juicy flavours of the fish to take the limelight. The caponata, an Italian ratatouille, provided an exuberant journey for the taste buds as a backdrop to the simplicity of the swordfish.
The sea bass too had little by way of extra adornments and the melange, or salad, was the perfect accompaniment. The dishes were relatively low key but truly outstanding and served to perfection – as shown by our empty plates!
Next up were the Tiramisu and Piatto di Formaggi – Regional Cheeses with Chutney, Truffle Honey and Sourdough Bread. The tiramisu was a fluffy, layered, sweet treat in a small pot which was easy enough to share – not that you’d particularly want to. The balance of flavours was perfected with hints of coffee throughout. The regional cheeses were simply divine. For any aficionado of cheeses, it is worth coming to Orso just for this. We had a small selection, with each piece drizzled with honey surrounding a magnificent chutney.
Our verdict? With very reasonable prices and some truly first class dishes, Orso is definitely the ‘it’ place to go to pre-theatre or just because.
http://orsorestaurant.co.uk/
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