Home Food & DrinkRestaurantsA Jovial Jaunt to Bottarga

A Jovial Jaunt to Bottarga

by Neil Davey

The London Greek Renaissance continues… While it’s still possibly more of a blip than a trend, the arrival of Oma, Agora, Krokodilos, Zephyr and the latter’s sister place Bottarga suggest there’s definitely something in the air.

To be fair, a glimpse down many a menu – and trip down many a high street – will confirm that we have an ongoing love of / fascination for the culinary Venn diagram that is Mediterranean / Turkish / Cypriot / Greek / Middle Eastern food. Quite where it all started is open for debate; indeed, probably quite heated debate. I’ve often argued that, should they ever bring peace to the Middle East, they’ll celebrate over dinner, one country will say, “Have some hummus, we invented it”, and it’ll kick off again. But I digress. Back to Bottarga…

Bottarga

Sitting right on that corner where King’s Road becomes World’s End (and with some lowkey signage that’s a little hard to spot unless you’re virtually on top of it), it’s one of the more “neighbourhood-y” bits of Chelsea, a feeling confirmed by the bistro feel of the décor and, particularly, as the night progresses, the regular turnover of locals dropping in for a snack or two, a glass of something, a light family supper…

Some linger for hours, some are in and out in 30 minutes. All are clearly equally welcome. The room itself has a very traditional feel – candles, white tablecloths, wooden chairs – albeit with some entertaining flourishes: the mythology-referencing artwork is gently humorous, the open kitchen and huge grill provides some entertaining theatre and the chill-out soundtrack merely adds to the pleasing vibe.

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Food and Drink at Bottarga

The menu is broken into seven sections, which speak for themselves and explain Bottarga’s flexibility: breads and spreads; mezze; raw; salads; vegetables; ocean; and butcher. There’s also an allergy menu, a gluten-free sourdough bread option and a front of house who handles all such things with aplomb, which, when you’re dining with a genuine dairy-free coeliac (rather than some annoying faker who thinks gluten-free is the same as low carb), is quite the relief. The excellent Laura was able to explain which dishes were definitely out, and what they could tweak and deconstruct to cover my greed / her needs.

After an enjoyable glass of Xinomavro, a Greek sparkling wine of crisp apple freshness and big bready notes, we dipped – pun intended – into the first section with pita, the (actually pretty good) GF sourdough, a terrific tarama with trout roe, and the smoked aubergine with the crispy onion topping, with its crunchy, delicious gluten coating, served on the side.

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So far, so very, very pleasing as we ventured into the raw section for bluefin tuna with roasted red pepper and lemon and, at Laura’s (correct) recommendation, yellowtail with yuzu dressing and jalapeno. Both were simple, pure and proved the point that, if you start with good ingredients, you really don’t need to do much to them to let them shine.

The Classic Greek Salad arrived – with barrel aged feta, caper leaf and rusks – in requested kit form and was none the worse for the tweaking. Again, it’s a platter of quality ingredients – particularly well-sourced tomatoes that taste of tomato – so, whether eaten as the intended whole or picked apart as individual elements, this is a fine, fresh, mood-enhancer of a dish. Saying that, though it is, of course, better with the cheese.

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“Ocean” tempted, and dishes on neighbouring tables, the prawns and whole sea bass in particular, suggested we may need to return for this section of the menu. However, from the moment I picked up the menu, my eye was drawn to “Lamb Belly, Greek Easter seasoning”, and, it transpires, with good reason. Crispy skin, proper deep flavour, meat right on that point where it’s tender but rewards the chew. It’s good meat, and good grilling and, at £28, good value: with a side of grilled vegetables, it’s more than enough for two people, and our defeat turns into a very decent leftover sandwich the following day. It also meant desserts, as good as they looked, were not a viable option.

Bottarga is busy, buzzy and on top of its simple, appealing game.

Bottarga
383 King’s Road
London
SW10 0LP
United Kingdom

Author

  • NeilDavey

    Neil is a former private banker turned freelance journalist. He’s also a trained singer, a former cheesemonger, once got paid to argue with old women about the security arrangements at Cliff Richard concerts and almost worked with a cross-dressing wine importer. He now basically eats for a living but, judging by the state of his shirts, isn’t very good at it.

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