L'Amorosa

L’Amorosa is located in a parade of shops and restaurants near Ravenscourt Park, and has been running since September 2014. It is operated by chef Andy Needham and his wife Laura, with Andy having previously earned a Michelin star for Zafferano, where he was head chef for many years. Here he produces the same high calibre Italian food, though in a less fancy setting. The dining room is spread over two levels, seating perhaps a couple of dozen diners.

Tonight, we tried three different dishes. Tortelli was filled with burrata and was served with red prawns, vine tomatoes, oregano and a little chilli. The pasta had good texture and the oregano nicely lifted the flavour of the burrata; the prawns themselves were also excellent, pleasantly sweet and carefully cooked (14/20).

Saffron risotto is very impressive here, using aged carnaroli rice and deeply flavoured stock. The flecks of red saffron added colour and the texture of the risotto was lovely, enriched by a little Parmesan (comfortably 15/20). Ravioli came with Angus ox cheek ragu that had been braised for seven hours and cooked with Chianti wine and rosemary. The meat ragu was dark and rich, the rosemary a lovely foil for the sauce (easily 14/20).

For dessert, fig and almond frangipani had seasonal figs and very good, soft texture. The creamy frangipani mix of eggs, butter and sugar with ground almonds had plenty of almond flavour (14/20). Tiramisu was also very good, the version here having plenty of coffee kick that the sponge fingers had absorbed nicely (14/20). 

Service, led by the chef’s wife, was friendly, and the bill came to £71 in total including drinks. If you had three courses and shared some modest wine then you could end up with a bill of around £65. This seems to me very fair given the high standard of cooking here. L’Amorosa is a lovely neighbourhood restaurant serving food that is altogether better quality than you would expect in this setting, which of course is a reflection of the skills and experience of the chef. It is great to see it now reopened after the pandemic, if only for a few evenings a week so far.

Further reviews: 21st Oct 2023 | 29th Oct 2020 | 04th May 2019 | 05th Aug 2014