Cost: Small
plates range from £4 to £8 and you would need at least three plates per person
to make a meal of it. There are a few larger dishes from £14.
About: Tozi is
the latest addition to a growing cicchetti scene in London. Cicchetti is the
Northern Italian answer to tapas, with baked and fried delicacies and even
small portions of main courses such as stews and roasts are washed down with
drinks, either as aperitivo or a main
meal. Located in the backwaters of Victoria station, it is an unlikely find,
but the cooking is good enough to make the trek out, even if you aren’t killing
time before catching a train. It is located in the Park Plaza hotel, although I
didn’t realise this until we left – the entrance is separate and there was no
clue of hotel ‘styling’ in the décor.
The chefs come with great pedigrees from Cecconi’s and both
Soho House and Shoreditch House.
Where: 8
Gillingham Street, London, SW1V 1HJ http://www.tozirestaurant.co.uk
What we ate:
Small plate dining can be a little frustrating if you are ravenous and part of
a large group, politely waiting for your
turn to scoop up your 1/8 share of a raviolo. But, while this type of dining
does not provide the instant gratification of having a big plate of food all to
yourself, I was pleasantly replete by the time we left.
Bruschetta was
exactly as I make at home (a good thing as it is one of my specialities) with
well marinated tomatoes, a good zing of oil and vinegar and nicely flecked with
basil.
Zucchinni Fritti
was perfectly fried – crisp and unctuous on the inside. And excellent value,
too, at only £3.50 for a goodly mound.
We also had the Calamari
Fritti, which must have been good as it was polished off before I could
raise my camera and click.
Ricotta Ravioli
came with a lemony butter sauce and generously anointed with truffle shavings.
I could have eaten three plates of it and happily called it dinner.
The gnocchi in the Gnocchi
with Duck Ragu was soft as pillows and the ragu was interesting but had a
flavour which reminded me of a Northern Italian delicacy which I have struggled
to appreciate – sausages encased in salt and buried under ground to ‘season’.
Chargrilled Octopus
tentacles were perfectly cooked and came with a springy dressing with
celery, new potatoes and semi-dried tomatoes.
The Aubergine
Parmigiana was sturdy and dense and not sloppy and oily as it so often is.
The Ox Cheeks
were my favourite, cooked for as long as it takes, with the sauce reduced down
to a rich concentration and the meat yielding but clinging to all the flavour
of its cooking juices.
The Swordfish with Caponata
was also excellent, crispy coating delivering firm and fresh fish with the tang
of slightly pickled vegetables.
We also ate the Pizzette
which was as you would expect, if a bit on the small side. And the Piadina, with an overly salty ham and
not enough cheese to balance it.
What we drank: The Barrel-Aged
Negroni is definitely the drink to try here, as is the Prosecco on tap. My Aperol
Spritz-Tozi style was a classic Aperol-Prosecco combo enhanced with
watermelon juice, which I loved. Anita
Ekberg was a zesty cocktail of Vodka, chilli, ginger, cucumber and passion
fruit.
Likes: The food
is assured and the quality ingredients shine through. The small plate concept
means that a greedy person like me can try more items on the menu, which makes
ordering a little easier.
The cocktails are excellent and I would trek across town
just for the barrel-aged Negroni.
Dislikes: The
plates are rather small, even for small plates. The pizzette and piadini were
particularly miniscule.
Verdict:
Definitely worth a visit, especially if you happen to be in the area, which is
largely devoid of interesting dining or drinking options. Going in a group for
cocktails, with a few snacks, rather than for a full-blown meal is also a very
good option. After all, Tozi does means mates in Italian.
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