Bottega 35 in Kensington is a slick and stylish restaurant that does deliver a satisfying meal, but lacks some of the warmth of its sister restaurants.
Doing a restaurant review in horrible weather on a Tuesday evening in January can be tricky – because while you’re reviewing the food on its merits, you’re also thinking about curling up on a sofa and sipping a mug of hot tea.
And while Bottega 35 does definitely deliver a level of comfort food that is required for such an occasion, I can’t help but feel its vibes would be better suited to a different occasion.
Inevitably, when you’ve reviewed other restaurants in the same family tree, and especially when you walk past one on the way from the Tube, you feel a level of comparison cropping up by default.
But that’s probably doing Bottega 35 a disservice, as it’s not trying to be Como Garden, it’s trying to be its own thing, and it does that pretty well.
My friend and I were settled in a lovely spot by the window and the pre-dinner cocktail provided hit the spot and set the tone for the evening nicely.
We decided to mix and match our meals to get the broadest experience and while the portions were a little lean, the food tasted good.
We started with a mushroom arancini and aubergine parmagiana, both of which were lovely, before turning to the mains.
We shared a pan seared seabass with capers, fries and spinach and then a parpadelle ragu – both Italian classics which gave us a variety of flavours and both of which were good.
Then came dessert – a pistachio cheesecake that was lacking in punch and a tiramisu, which certainly was not.
The tiramisu was unquestionably the highlight of the meal as it was built in front of us and looked incredible. I’m not a huge dessert person but both my friend and myself thought it was excellent.
And so, three courses, a glass of wine and catching up with a friend I hadn’t seen since before Christmas later, the Bottega 35 experience was over and whilst I wouldn’t say I was blown away, I wasn’t underwhelmed either.
Ultimately, I enjoyed my evening in the ‘Italian Tavern’ – the food was all good, the service was fine and the wine hit the spot – and sometimes that’s all you need a restaurant to do.
You can check out Bottega 35 and their sister restaurants here.
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