If you’re looking for a slice of La Dolce Vita within the walls of our capital city then look no further than Como Garden on Kensington High Street. The Italian-insipred restaurant is the latest addition to the portfolio for the dynamic entrepreneur duo twins Arian and Alberto Zandi. Situated conveniently next door to their lively sister restaurant, Zuaya (a Latin American-inspired destination), the inspiration for Como Garden was the idyllic Lake Como from the Lombardia region of Italy.
Stepping into the West End hotspot you are greeted with a calming oasis of creams and greens, complimented by a ginormous replica olive tree situated in the centre of the restaurant. Make sure to book a table under here for the very best pictures. The walls are adorned with foliage and terracotta pots line the ceiling filled with luscious green foliage. Crockery encapsulates the authentic designs that one would find in the local restaurants around Lake Como and the atmosphere is buzzy, as you would expect from such a central destination.
Authentically Italian dishes are on the menu and we’re tempted by all the classics but feel compelled to try things we are not so familiar with in the name of research, of course. Como Garden has classic antipasti taps such as arancini with fontina cheese, oven-baked beef stuffed red peppers and olive oil, marinated olives and all the usual suspects. Mains that grabbed our attention were the truffle-filled ravioli, taglioni arrabbiata & gamberi as well as the Sicilian orange salad with olives and cashew nuts for something a little lighter.
As designated driver for the evening, I opted for a mocktail to kick things off with a glass of red with dinner to follow. The ability of a restaurant to make a great non-alcoholic drink is equally important for me as their wine list and I was by no means disappointed with Daniel’s suggestion of a non-alcoholic Pornstar Martini, if you had told me it was inclusive of alcohol I would have believed you! Great start.
We ordered a few dishes of antipasti to begin the evening and were pleasantly surprised with how efficient their service was. Our charming waiter Daniel was as helpful as he could possibly be for my coeliac requirements. For me, the menu wasn’t geared towards people with allergens at all, but my partner had a field day with choices so ordered classics such as calamari and a lasagne to follow. I opted for a steak tartare which had a delightfully truffley cream underneath and then also tried the beef carpaccio and seabass to follow.
Is Como Garden my personal favourite Italian restaurant in London? Probably not. Is it as authentic as possible with some really impressive attributes and an outstanding location? Definitely. I would highly recommend Como Garden for a pre-theatre meal or casual ‘stop off from shopping lunch’ for al-fresco Italian vibes and great service.
