Review: Evoluzione at Hotel Xenia

Style Points: 3/5
Price: £££
Overall: 3/5

Welcome drinks in the bar

Evoluzione is a classy restaurant located inside the atrium of Hotel Xenia in South Kensington. It serves distinctive Italian food designed by Michelin Star awarded Chef Andrea Angeletti.

When I dined there as part of a foodie gathering, the tables in the restaurant were all set up to give us all a chance to see our food being prepared. This ‘chef’s table’ of sorts was a lovely edition to the meal as it gave a further insight into the food we were eating.

In addition the beautiful bar which diners pass through on the restaurant is very minimalist and stylish and even has a piano that can play soothing music all by itself.

The restaurant

Chef Andrea Angeletti

Would I Want Seconds? 

We sampled a set menu with six delightful courses designed by Chef Andrea Angeletti himself. What’s more he demonstrated the creation of each course in front of us, whilst explaining the origin, process and inspiration of each dish. The first dish we tried was the ‘Yin yang salmon with marinated ginger and self shaken zest’. The salmon cooked on one side only was tender and melted beautifully in the mouth. It also came with a classic ginger and chilli dressing contained in its own individual plastic ball which needs to be shaken and then poured over the dish. This entertaining addition composed a very light and refreshing dish which was perfect to start a meal with.

When the second dish arrived you could smell the rich cheese aroma before it was even served. This was the ‘cheese bread with king prawn and pecorino sauce’ which was a very rich dish full of distinctive flavours.

The next dish was ‘dry cannelloni stuffed with ricotta cheese, porcini mushroom, veal and a truffle dipping sauce’. This beautiful creamy dish was to be eaten with our hands in order to remind us of our childhood according to Chef Andrea Angeletti.

Ying yang salmon

Cheese bread with king prawns

The fourth dish was ‘passatelli with pamesan fondue’. This was composed of pasta and more cheese. The passatelli, a type of pasta formed of bread crumbs, eggs and grated parmesan cheese, created a very heavy dish and one I couldn’t quite finish.

By this time we were quite stuffed but there were still two more courses to go and we had no intention of backing out.

The second last dish was ‘sea bass cooked in olive oil with cream of potato and taggiasca olives’. The sea bass was really well done and the addition of infused peppercorns really brought the dish alive.

Dessert and our final course was ‘Chiboust’, a flaky pastry filled with cream, lightened with stiffly beaten egg whites and oozing a gorgeous aroma of caramelized sugar.

This was my first six course meal in a very long time and by the time we had got through it all we were very satisfied and very happy.

Dry cannelloni stuffed with ricotta cheese

Passatelli with pamesan fondue

Sea bass cooked in olive oil

Could I Afford Seconds?

We dined on a special menu but the standard menu at Evoluzione is also full of a variety of beautiful traditional Italian dishes served with a modern twist which is typical of Chef Andrea Angeletti’s style.

The starters here are quite wholesome and include ‘roasted octopus with potatoes, aubergine and crispy sesame waffle’ at £12 as well as ‘roasted scallops with orange sauce, asparagus and black olives’ at £14. The average price for starters here range from between £10 to £12. Pasta and Risotto main courses are approximately £14 and include dishes such as ‘saffron risotto with fossa cheese and powder black olives’.

There is also a section on the menu for heavier main courses such as ‘aromatic herb crusted rack of lamb with garlic sauce’ at £22 and ‘grilled lobster and potato filled thyme prawns’ at £27. These courses are a lot pricier, the average price being £25.

However, Evoluzione also offer an Express Lunch Menu with the same dishes served as sample size dishes ideal for a light lunch. These dishes can be ordered as a small or large dish and the average price of which is £9.

Overall: 3/5

Evoluzione is a well designed restaurant and Chef Andrea Angeletti is passionate about his food. He has created a unique Italian menu with dishes which would be hard to find elsewhere.

As a result, for those with adventurous taste buds Evoluzione is a must visit location as each dish served here is distinctive in its flavours and combinations. It would be an ideal place for lunch as dining on the Express Lunch menu would allows diners to sample a range of dishes in a very inexpensive way.

Many thanks to Zomato and Hotel Xenia and especially Chef Andrea Angeletti for their hospitality. These opinions are all my own.

Website: www.hotelxenia.co.uk/evoluzione.html
Address: 160 Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London SW5 0TL
Tube: Gloucester Road