Whoa! Was my Friday night dinner at Mozzarella & More the best restaurant meal I’ve had this year? Maybe. And the other places that I can think of offering a dining experience of similarly high calibre all cost way more than twice as much as my meal at this newly opened southern Italian eatery on the King’s Road in Chelsea.
Mozzarella & More is the newest outlet (and concept) from the Made in Italy restaurant group. One part trattoria, one part mozzarella bar and one part deli, M&M is located just a couple of doors down from the original Made in Italy restaurant. It’s also the only restaurant in London producing its own mozzarella (they’ve got a production kitchen in nearby Battersea).
Kemey and I dined at M&M on Friday night, arriving around 8pm to a buzzing little dining room and a warm “buona sera!” reception from what seemed to be each and every member of the staff. My first reaction was something along the lines of “Oh brother. Here we go with some over-the-top schmaltz to cover up for whatever inadequacies are about to be tossed at us from a sub par kitchen”. Boy was I wrong.
The London chill around my jaded heart soon melted to what proved to be genuine Sicilian warmth and hospitality. Service was fast, fluid and friendly. The setting, trattoria-y and cosy. And, most importantly, everything I ate was gorgeous (Kemey says the same of her meal as well).
Folks familiar with this blog know that I review Italian restaurants on a pretty regular basis and that heading to Italy for a foodie press trip isn’t all that unusual for me. M&M was not just the best Italian eatery I’ve visited this year but one of the tastiest restaurants I’ve visited in a very long time.
Highlights from the menu?
Well, obviously the mozzarella. Truly great stuff and – as it’s made locally – very fresh. The burrata (cheese made with mozzarella and cream) blew us away with each soothing mouthful. The scamorza (smoked mozzarella) disappeared from our table at an alarming rate. We also adored the caponata (something I don’t normally care too much about) and the frittata di spaghetti (yes!). A range of starter sized items are available from the mozzarella bar with most priced around £9.
A massive main of salsiccia della casa (home made pistachio and fennel pork sausage, £14.50) with a surprisingly satisfying side of roast potatoes (£2.95) accompanied by freshly prepared Balsamic mayonnaise was as hearty a dish as I’ve ever had. I would totally devour a plate of that again! Kemey got an equally comforting bowl of malfatti con vongole pesto di pomodori secchi (home made “random cut” pasta with clams, sun dried tomatoes and pesto shaved home made salted ricotta, £12). Amazing.
We washed our delicious din-din down with a nice Sardinian red wine. The wine was suggested by our gracious host, manager Sara Corsaro. I was too busy enjoying our feast to make note of the label or price, but no complaints!
Desserts (we received a sample platter with a little of all the afters on it) are another reason I hope to return to M&M soon. Cassata, canoli, ricotta cheesecake, ricotta ice cream … everything was delightful!
I can’t say enough good things about this great restaurant. Go soon and go hungry!
Mozzarella & More is located at 257 King’s Road, SW3 5EL. Visit the restaurant online at madeinitalygroup.co.uk.
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