Dragoncello, Paddington, Restaurant Review

Well hello Dragoncello, how very nice to eat you. Italian, my favourite cuisine; for tarragon, my favourite herb. This little restaurant is a right little charmer isn’t it? Little being the operative word.

Italian by name, it’s not by nature. Dragoncello is clean cut much like its owner, and offers a couture eating experience unaffiliated with most Italian haunts in the capital. Sitting assured yet quietly at the top of residential Chepstow Road, in Dragoncello Tobia Speranza and Monserrato Marini have chiselled a gap in the market for themselves.

Like walking into someone’s somewhat grandeur-boasting front room, you immediately gain a sense of intimacy and chosen-ness. Now, the art of simplicity is not as simple as the word simplicity suggests. But it is through such an art that Dragoncello’s menu excels.

Seated at one of the six tables, we sipped and swirled a Bacchus Ciu’ Ciu’ 2009 red and nibbled on homemade focaccia; both well received. To start, marrying beef carpaccio with parmesan shavings and a delicate rosemary dressing worked royally. As for the mozzarella bomb on a bed of basil and immaculately seasoned tomatoes, well that was an explosion of freshness I’d happily devour again. And again.

Shown straight from being baked, the locally sourced sea bass for main was a stand out. Void of fuss, I partnered the fish in crime with zucchini fritti and rosemary potatoes - part mashed, part not. Because pasta practically epitomises Italian culture, the ravioli stuffed with ricotta in tomato sauce disappointed slightly. Dessert wise, my sweet tooth left satisfied, the classic Panna cotta narrowly fending off the even more classic Tiramsu.

There is nothing little about the prices but that shouldn’t deter you. It’s a place for a special occasion where you leave less out of pocket, more in the good book. New, sexy and atypical, there’s molto kudos for treating someone here. (Mike Christensen)

Dragoncello, Paddington, Restaurant Review

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