Italian food "via Italy" at Pescatori

Central London’s Pescatori, the Italian and seafood ristoranti in Mayfair and Fitzrovia, strike back at the American-Italian ristoranti springing up around the country, with their own take on the new menu, being introduced in mid June.

'Trends come and go, we’ve seen Cal-Ital, now we are seeing Italy via New York, but here, food is Italian via Italy’ says Pescatori Charlotte Street’s new head chef Francesco Zanchetta. ‘Pasta is the heartbeat of the menu, but you can forget about the ordinary’ he continues.

Take Bucatini Matriciana for example, which is not made like the familiar American-Italian sauce with tomatoes,onions and herbs, pancetta and cheese. The authentic recipe from the tiny mountain town Amatrice north of Rome, tastes wildly different, with naturally cured Italian pig’s cheek (not pancetta), spicy tomato, garlic and pecorino romano, and this is what you’ll find. Here, you will also find Penne & Sicilian Caponata, Pappardelle with monkfish cheeks, artichokes and tomatoes and Linguine with seabass fillet, Taggiasca olives & Pachino vine tomatoes, like you’ll find in Southern Italy. The idea of combining fish fillets with pasta is typical of Napoli and the Sicilian coastal towns, where the ristoranti still wait until the boats come in and literally throw the catch in with the pasta. It’s what the fishermen’s wives used to do, and in some places, still do.

The lunchtime service is lively, with guests served in under an hour, evenings are more paced, but the welcome on arrival, the environment and the comfort reflects what Italian hospitality is all about.

New on the menu is the Day Boat Dish – hake, yellow fin tuna, sea bream, monkfish and other seafood depending on what’s caught. Known as Pesce di Paranza in Italy, the fish comes from Newlyn in South West England, where a day boat fleet packs the catch at the harbour and supplies it directly on the same day. The fresh catch is often offered as ‘speciale del giorno’. Pescatori’s salmon comes from Severn & Wye, where the fish is allowed to swim in the river, thus almost achieving the quality of a wild salmon.

Bringing fun and taste to the table, Piatti da Dividere – the sharing platters – are served just as in Italy, in the middle, for everyone to help themselves from. Guests can tuck into the Affettato – the charcuterie platter, the Fritto Misto, the typically Tuscan Cacciucco – the big seasonal fish and shellfish stew served with toasted casareccio bread, or the vegetarian platter L’Ortolana. Even these platters are totally seasonal, like the rest of the menu, which offers the best of the natural harvest. Eggs are free-range, and all meat dishes show the provenance.

Ristoranti come and go, but there is something to be said for Pescatori, who continue to reinvent themselves and are today as contemporary as ever. With a timeless décor and a sought-after outdoor eating area in Charlotte Street, and a bright interior in Dover Street, these days the accent is on ‘great food made simple’, using only with fresh and seasonal ingredients, and recipes which are true to their Italian origins.

Prices are also accessible, and whilst fresh, quality produce is never cheap, Sardine marinate – salt cured Cornish sardine fillets with Amalfi lemons come in at £6.95, Bucatini Matriciana £11.50, Dorset Blue Lobster & Crab Burger £16, three Fine de Claire oysters £7.50, and currently in season, Wye Valley Asparagus £8.75, Agnello – roast rump of Welsh lamb with Jersey Royals, £19.95.

All fish at Pescatori is sourced from sustainable and well managed fisheries. Working with the seasons, the kitchens utilise the freshest coastal fish when creating a menu. Purchasing is underpinned by a disciplined ethical standard, shellfish is hand-dived, never dredged, and wild and game fish is line caught, minimising the impact to precious natural resources and coastlines.