Novikov - a Russian owned Italian/Asian restaurant?
A Russian-owned restaurant in London, serving Italian food in one dining room, and Asian food in the other? If I’m honest, when I first heard about it, Arkady Novikov’s namesake restaurant inspired neither confidence nor any burning desire to visit. Since its opening early in 2012, the odd positive report from friends and friends of friends had filtered through to me but I still wasn’t in much of a rush to check it out.
My first opportunity to visit came up on the Saturday before Easter, through an invitation to join some friends for dinner. I went with a mild sense of curiosity but with few expectations. What I found was a very pleasant surprise.
At first blush, Novikov was pretty much everything I anticipated it would be: doormen and vacuous clip-board girls loitering at the entrance to a door leading into a shiny, oversized setting. Everything was bright, big, and reminiscent of what I imagine a high-end cruise ship looks like. To the left, as you walk in, is a large open plan seating area that looks onto a working display kitchen. This is the Asian restaurant. Some steps down to the next level in the Italian restaurant; a large open plan seating area that looks into a working display kitchen. So far, so canteen.
The basement area houses an aspirationally trendy lounge area populated primarily by a collection of good-from-far-but-far-from-good, badly-dressed, over-perfumed girls. And, on this occasion, boxing champion David Haye wearing a white bandana that appeared to have escaped from 1980.
Rihanna leaving Novikov Restaurant - yes, it's trendy.
Back in the Italian section, the people watching was fantastic – in a comic way. Shortly after we were seated and were starting to look over the menu, a crass-looking chap wearing a v-neck t-shirt under a blazer and a flouncy white scarf sat at the table to our left. The perfect opportunity to make some jokes thought I, but just as I was getting ready to unleash my litany of criticism, along came his guests. To my dismay, two beautiful young girls with dresses shorter than my attention span perched on either side of our now proudly grinning neighbor thereby instantly replacing my disdain with pure, unabashed jealousy. It wasn’t long before I realised that the next door table was pretty much representative of the rest of the restaurant, so I shielded my gaze from the bright glare of the ceiling lights, ignored the Los Angeles-style faux-tree wall motifs, pretended not to be jealous, and got down to the task of choosing my food.
Fortunately, this turned out to be the right thing to do for, as amusing as the people watching was, it paled in comparison with the food. Let me be clear: Dinner at Novikov that night was the best Italian food I have eaten in London for a while and as I write these words a few days later, I still cannot think of an Italian restaurant in London where I’ve eaten better.
Dinner at Novikov that night was the best Italian food I have eaten in London for a while.
We had shared starters among the three of us and not a morsel was left on anyone’s plate. The sea bass carpaccio was delicate and struck the perfect balance between tasteful, fresh, and light. The fried, crisp calamari were just as they should be, and the Burattina oozed its creamy contents as soon as the knife hit the cheese.
I can only report on two main courses as two of us shared a dish for two; the other made the disappointingly unoriginal choice of ordering Spaghettini Bolognese. The Bolognese looked fine and seemed to satisfy the friend who ordered it. The Branzino cooked in a crust of salt that the other two of us shared was in a league of its own. It’s a dish I know well but that typically feels like it should be enjoyed at a beachfront restaurant in Mallorca on a warm summer day. Nonetheless, on a cold spring night in London, it was among the best I’ve had. The fish, once liberated from its shell of salt, was served with cherry tomatoes, olive oil, and black olives. The salt-shell cooking ensured that the fish retained all its flavor and texture and was enhanced by just enough saltiness. Sated and satisfied, we skipped pudding.
On the whole, the atmosphere, whilst not set in my ideal decorative setting, was convivial enough and the layout somehow managed to allow for table-gawking while still providing enough of a sense of privacy to hold a conversation without feeling like everyone else is listening. From the initial greeters, to the waiters, to the sommelier, the service was an impeccable combination of helpful politeness and un-intrusive efficiency.
Next time, I’d like to check out the after-dinner scene downstairs in the lounge – not least to see whether our dinner-table neighbour’s guests might be there. And if the Asian restaurant is anything like the standard of the Italian, well, at that point it’ll be hard to get me to go to any other restaurant in London again.
photo by: www.rihannafentyforum.comNovikov Restaurant
50a Berkeley Street
Mayfair, London
W1J 8HAT: +44 (0) 207 399 4330e: [email protected]
