Not every restaurant in London has to be a life-changing experience. Indeed, it’s probably best for most of us that, amidst the genuinely exceptional places – and, it must be said, the appallingly diabolical – there are the kind of high-quality neighbourhood restaurants that make you wish that you lived close by, so that you could pop in for a light bite and a glass of wine, or for something more substantial. There aren’t as many of these places as you would like, but Cent Anni, in St John’s Wood, is one of these, and should be praised accordingly.
Rising from the ashes of another neighbourhood stalwart, Café Med, which had occupied the same site for a quarter-century, Cent Anni is an Italian spot that has already attracted a great deal of praise and attention for its other operation in another well-heeled part of London, Wimbledon Village.
It is not aiming to reinvent the wheel (or, I should say, la ruota), but instead to serve decent modern Italian food in comfortable and stylish surroundings, complete with really excellent, very friendly and wholly professional staff who elevate the entire experience to another level.
If you kick off with one of the fine cocktails – I ordered an Old Fashioned, but really you should go for an Aperol Spritz or similar – and nibble on a couple of appetisers, including a fine zucchini fritti, you’ll have space to peruse the menu.
There is little here that is going to scare the cows, but it’s all done with great care, attention to detail and high-quality cooking. So if you want a starter of two kinds of tomatoes (heirloom and cherry) with avocado on sourdough toast, or linguine with king prawns, chilli and garlic, you’re going to be well catered for, especially if a glass of crisp, deliciously dry Pecorino is served with it.
Wine is actually something of a speciality of the casa, and a very fine Chianti was the perfect accompaniment to a main course of beef rib on the bone, which came medium rare and had a delightful fullness of flavour to it. Usually Italian restaurants shy away from any sauces but here, a decent bearnaise and a better peppercorn sauce were both offered, and they made for a very enjoyable meal. The conversation was excellent, the staff even better; it was the kind of evening that you think back fondly on for many months to come.
We ended with a couple of traditional Italian desserts, tiramisu – one of the best I’ve had in a while – and the chocolate orange pot, which had just the right balance between sweetness and something more acerbic, and was all the better as a result.
This is sophisticated, generous cooking, not trying to be a Michelin-starred spot and priced accordingly (there’s a superb value set lunch menu that offers three courses for £20, which must make it about the biggest bargain in this postcode). It deserves to be every bit as big and popular a spot as Café Med was. Chances are, it will be.
Cent Anni, 21 Loudoun Rd, St John’s Wood, London NW8 0NB. For more information, and for bookings, please visit www.centanni.co.uk.
