La Tagliata

For a few years now there’s been talk of the one-dish restaurant having its moment in the spotlight, however single item eateries in the capital can be counted with the fingers of one hand.

Enter La Tagliata, presenting a similar concept to steakhouse Le Relais de Venise L’Entrecote, famous for offering just steak, salad and fries. Here the main course is tagliata, in other words sliced steak, in this case sirloin. Along with a starter of tagliatelli and a dessert (classic tiramisu or panacotta naturally) the fixed menu is a very reasonable £29.

La Tagliata’s romantic décor makes it feel more like a villa on the Med than a City restaurant. There isn’t a main dining area as such, instead a few tables are positioned in the corners of the building, so we only have one neighbour as well as a good view of the street. There are elegant touches like the antique-looking wooden counter and the beautifully cut glassware.

But back to the food. There is a choice of sauces for the tagliatelli: we have rich, meaty ragù and creamy pesto with our ribbon pasta, both very good and daintily presented. The tagliata itself is great – blushing red in the middle with a herby salted crust, served with cherry tomatoes, parmesan shavings and rocket. For non-meat lovers there’s scamorza, a turophile’s delight as it’s a hunk of baked matured mozzarella with juicy porcini mushrooms and a liberal amount of grated truffle. Both dishes come with either roast or shepherds potatoes, a fragrant mash done according to the restaurant manager’s grandmothers’ recipe, which he is evidently very proud of. It’s not the only thing he should be pleased with – the menu may be brief but there’s plenty to rave about at this charming little spot.