Aldo Zilli. Now there’s a name from the past. Still very much about, he’s created a new menu for Elaine’s, so we checked it out

Zilli has considerable form – Signor Zilli, Zilli Green, Zilli Café, and Zilli Bar as well as Italian seafood restaurant, Zilli Fish. You’ll notice he likes the sound of his own name.

In 2023 he employed Nigel Farage as a sous chef for a day for a Christmas cooking class, which was brave of him.

Is it brave of him to create a menu for Elaine’s, which has usually looked to New York for inspiration, possibly the original Elaine’s that was there from 1963 to 2011?

The bar/restaurant/deli is remarkably opulent, reflecting the way Kingsway has changed in recent years. No longer a rather grubby neighbour to Covent Garden it now has swish new offices all around and draws in diners and drinkers from Theatreland, as well as lawyer land just around the corner.

The effect is effective. You go in not expecting too much and you find yourself in a space that wouldn’t be out of place in Knightsbridge. The bar is large and sexy and there’s an area for private functions and parties. The chairs, and I find I care about such basic things more and more, are lovely and comfy.

So what’s to eat? The Deli Bread Basket went down well with some dips, the focaccia soft inside and gently crispy on the outside, and we shared Fried Calamari & Zucchini with Garlic & Caper Lemon Aioli, and Polpette Cacio e Pepe – Beef & Pork Mini Meatballs, Pecorino & Black Pepper Sauce.

The calamari had a good batter, light and friable, but were a bit hollow. The Zucchini were wildly addictive, I was grabbing them in rude handfuls and slathering them in the aioli.

I liked the meatballs a lot, denser than a blackhole they were properly meaty and the sauce had the lovely tang of the cheese with the tickle of the pepper.

I don’t tend to eat mains in Italian restaurants, well that’s not quite true, I do if we are eating properly – antipasti, pasta and mains – but in these more restrained times I tend to only eat the pasta.

So here I went for Tortelloni di Burrata –  Tortelloni filled with Burrata & Truffle in a Parmesan Fondue. This turned out to be tasty, but the creamy sauce was a bit too liquid for me, not helped by the burrata melting into it once cut open. I did try eating a tortellini whole, but it was a bit too big for that. Personally, I would serve the tortellini almost naked but for a dusting of parmesan. Oh, and some truffle too, of course.

Stone Bass Fillet Caper Butter, Asparagus & Minted New Potatoes looked, and apparently tasted, delicious, a lovely hunk of fish cooked perfectly and bathed in a jus of its own cooking juices, wilted tomatoes, olives and the melted butter. The new potatoes had been baked, giving them a lovely wrinkly skin and intensifying the flavour.

A shared Torta Della Nonna – lemon zest custard tart, toasted pine nuts, mixed berry compote was rather good. I liked its simplicity, overwrought desserts are rather wasted on me as by that point I am usually groaning quietly and thinking only of having a lie down.

Overall Elaine’s is offering a rather classy, but fair-priced, experience in an area not always known for either. Certainly it’s a good place to head to pre-theatre – £25 for three courses is good value – and local workers can grab a decent lunch either at the table or to take away from the deli.

I do hope it doesn’t get renamed to Zilli’s Elaine’s, though.

Aldo Zilli also hosts exclusive Chef’s Table experiences. The Deli opens from 11am, and in the evening at the bar there are live music events.

elaineslondon.com
77 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6SR