A restaurant in a basement is always suspect – subterranean, possibly claustrophobic, probably arches, bare brick – and Apero is not entirely innocent; a bit hard to find through the hotel and next to the spa but once you find the place, it’s a cheery haunt – lots of light coming in from the tall windows looking out on the feet and ankles of pedestrians. The restaurant is set in three interlocked enclosed areas which prevent that awful sense of a huge canteen-like space familiar to customers of Jamie’s Italian in Islington. The bright white space is complemented by lots of trendy large bulbs with exposed filaments and additional lighting hanging from strategically placed copper rods. There is a sense of stepping into a cantina, albeit it an upmarket one, and the frisky Latin American music in the background suggests somewhere sexier than a hotel in South Kensington housing a restaurant below stairs. Having a bar in a restaurant always helps, especially when there are imaginative cocktails and a house spritz that uses a cheeky rhubarb liqueur (£5.50). Wine starts at under £20, listed by adjectives (‘lively and crisp’/ ‘generously warm’, ‘aromatic and distinctive …’) – Apero is not the kind of restaurant that tries to be posh.
The shared menu at £30 (vegetarian, £26) sounded good when listed by the waitress – the kitchen regularly changes its contents so they don’t appear on the menu -- and expectations were raised by the early arrival of a seaweed-inflected wholemeal bread and a tomato bread (both on the à la carte menu at £3.50 each). This set the tone for the Mediterranean-style food that followed, starting with stracciatella and carrot: an Italian soft cheese originating in the Puglia region, mixed with cream and strands of carrot. It was easy to eat and not at all heavy. By now, other punters were arriving to take their seats and a quietly convivial atmosphere, encouraged by the lively but not loud music, was evolving. A plate of asparagus risotto and then one bearing a ricotta and beetroot concoction arrived at our table. It was a colourful affair, with the bright green asparagus alongside the cleanly white ricotta and rich purple of the beetroot. The following piece of information is not strictly relevant but you may wish to know that the chef, Chris Golding, apparently has a thing about beetroot and has one tattooed on his shoulder. Arriving after a suitably timed interval was the main dish of yellow fin tuna with avocado, a combination that worked well especially with the shiso adding a faint fragrance of anise.
Despite having scoffed all the bread and devoured everything brought to the table, there was room for a light dessert and it came perfectly dressed: pistachio cake topped with strawberry mousse and whipped cream -- plus a smile on the plate formed by custardy mango.
You would have to be in a very cranky mood to eat at Apero and leave feeling disgruntled, unless you’d donned a dinner jacket, expected an elaborate arrangement of cutlery and glasses on the table and distain the very idea of sharing plates. Apero’s easygoing food, tiny marble topped tables and banquette seating create a dining experience that isn’t overwrought or pretentious. Expect good food in ample quantities, a lively but not overpowering atmosphere and some weird and wonderful cocktails.
