La Tagliata, Fitzrovia - London Restaurant Review

Cuisine: Italian
Location: Fitzrovia
Price: £££
Food: 5/5
Style Points: 4/5
Value for Money: 5/5
Overall: 4.5/5

La Tagliata is located just off Tottenham Court Road and is a great place to try authentic and traditional Italian dishes. The restaurant is cosy whilst also being elegant and stylish in design with white textured walls, eclectic artwork, stained mirrors and cream banquettes adorning the space.

The menu offers a great selection of dishes that all sound very appealing including Sardinian Pasta with Roast Vegetables, Ravioli filled with Pumpkin and Ricotta Cheese, and Grilled Swordfish with Asparagus. No pizzas in sight!

La Tagliata Fitzrovia Italian Restaurant

The Food?

We decided to start with an Italian Charcuterie Sharing Platter which came with a selection of Italian Cheese, Crisp Bread and Grilled Vegetables. The platter was beautifully presented on a wooden board and was of a great size for 2-3 people. Everything on the board was delicious and of obvious high quality. It was a joy to eat, especially when washed down with a beautiful Italian red recommended by our lovely server.

Onto the mains and we tried the Homemade Tagliatelle with Porcini Mushrooms, Rocket, Parmesan Shavings and Truffle Oil and the Marinated Grilled Fillet of Lamb Paillard served with Grilled Courgettes and Peppers.

The tagliatelle was a beautiful egg yolk colour and perfectly cooked. The porcini mushrooms gave a lovely rich taste and some more texture to the dish whilst the truffle oil gave a lovely aroma with each bite. I prefer real truffle of course but the truffle effect was enough to really elevate the dish.

Paillard essentially means the meat is pounded until very thin and tender and then grilled. The lamb was quite simply stunning and the marinade actually reminded me of good Indian lamb chops that have a wonderful marinade that works perfectly with lamb. Along with the grilled vegetables, it was a really lovely dish and was some of the best lamb I’ve had in a long time.

The only disappointment from the mains was the Mixed Leaf Salad we ordered on the side which was largely just rocket leaves with a few cherry tomatoes and some parmesan shavings. The Garlic and Rosemary Roast Potatoes on the other hand were delicious.

Moving onto dessert and I just had to go for the Italian classic Tiramisu whilst my companion tried the Homemade Almond Chocolate Cake. The tiramisu had layers of Savoiardi biscuits soaked in good Italian espresso coffee with mascarpone cream and a dusting of chocolate powder. I have had my share of bad tiramisu in the past and thankfully this was anything but bad. The dessert was a winner from start to finish and I’m so glad it was a big portion or I may have asked for seconds!

The almond cake was plated beautifully and was served with vanilla ice cream, almond crumb and topped with red berries. The Italians certainly know how to make desserts! The dish also tasted delicious and was a perfect dish to end the dinner on a high. After a couple of Italian coffees it was time to say ciao but I have a feeling we will be back to try some more dishes from the menu in next to no time.

Price?

Individual starters were on average around £10 and our sharing platter for 2 came to £21. Mains were between £15-£22 and the tagliatelle was £16.5 and the lamb paillard was £21. Desserts were around £7-£9 and the almond cake was £8 and the tiramisu was £7. The bottle of red was £28 and the coffees were £3 and £4.5.

Our 3 course dinner for two including coffee and a bottle of wine came to £109. It’s certainly not cheap but if you forego dessert and coffee and decided on a couple of glasses of wine instead of a bottle it would be around £75 which is a bit more reasonable. In any case, the food can’t be faulted and the portions were good so you won’t be disappointed on that front.

Overall?

La Tagliata is a cosy and romantic little restaurant that serves up some delicious authentic Italian dishes from starters all the way to dessert. If you are tired of having the same old Italian flavours and are looking for something a little more adventurous yet still authentic then La Tagliata is definitely a restaurant to check out.