Restaurant review: Tortello, London's newest trattoria

Tortello restaurant at the Royal Lancaster hotel — (Image credit: Tortello)

Tortello likes to style itself as a ‘trattoria’; a word which, to me, conjures an image of unassuming doorways tucked into secluded corners of the Trastevere, modestly decorated, staffed perhaps by an elderly couple with wide, wizened smiles, serving simple but drool-inducing food.

At first glance, Tortello is not that. Nestled in London's Royal Lancaster Hotel overlooking Hyde Park’s Italian gardens, this is a contemporary setup from top to bottom, bedecked mostly in fashionable, calming shades of sage green. An open kitchen, where an industrious team of chefs busy themselves with the important work of crafting fresh, hand-made pasta, looks out onto a multi-level spread of marble table tops.

There are retro nods, too. If you enter through the body of the hotel, as I did, rather than from the main entrance off Hyde Park, you’ll pass a giant print inviting you to ‘mangia bene, ridi spesso’ (eat well, laugh often), as well as a pistachio green vintage Fiat 500. You’re in Italy now, capiche?

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Fiat 500 at Tortello restaurant, Royal Lancaster hotel, London

But while this is no modest Roman ‘mama e papa’ eatery, Tortello delivers where it matters. There is genuine care taken over both the guests – who are diligently attended to by charming, personable staff – and the ingredients. The pasta is crafted from yolks laid by chickens the restaurant keeps in a farm outside London, along with flour sourced from specialist Italian mills.

The upshot is a wonderful blend of tradition and modernity, and of robust and subtle flavours.

Take the burrata (£14); perhaps one of the busiest plates of the stuff I’ve ever seen. The ball of cheese itself is surrounded by a nest of olives, nuts, delicious little crispy bits and generous shavings of parmesan (just in case you needed more cheese). These salty accoutrements balance out the burrata, which is creamy – almost yoghurty – while well-cooked Swiss chard provides a solid vegetal hit.

Or if you’d prefer to dive straight into the pasta, the Orkney crab tortelli (£14, or £24 as a main) is heavenly. Charcoal pasta parcels contain a deep, nutty package of crab, which would stand up well all by itself. Subtle, warming parsley butter and langoustine sauce surrounding the tortelli lift the dish to new heights; nothing overpowering, but a pleasant, mellow backdrop letting the crab do its thing.

Orkney crab tortelli, charcoal pasta, langoustine &amp; parsley butter sauce at Tortello restaurant, Royal Lancaster hotel, London — Orkney crab tortelli, charcoal pasta, langoustine & parsley butter sauce

All in all, a wonderful couple of starters which set the scene nicely for the mains.

Sea bass with clams, celeriac mash and creamed spinach (£27) continues Tortello's theme of delicacy balanced with punch. Tender, flaky flesh delivered on flavour, and the skin, while not crunchy crisp, added a decent bit of texture. Creamy spinach is fine without being remarkable, but the mash was superb: solidly savoury potato, balanced perfectly with a hint of almost-sweet celeriac.

It's a sophisticated dish that pleases on multiple different levels. For a more direct route to gastronomic pleasure, though, try the venison ragù (£21). This is rich and hearty, and an impressive whack of umami rounds out the flavour. It is, of course, complemented by freshly prepared tagliatelle – perfectly cooked by London standards, though my hypothetical Trastevere trattoria might have taken it out of the pot a minute or two sooner.

Sea bass fillet, Scottish clams, saut&eacute;ed spinach, potato &amp; celeriac mash, white wine at Tortello restaurant, Royal Lancaster hotel, London

I'm not one for tiramisu, but the entry on the menu was sorely tempting. Instead, I went ‘route one’ and ordered the chocolate cake (£9), and had no regrets at all: the chocolate is deep and dark, almost nutty, reminiscent of a particularly high quality chocolate brownie that my childhood local bakery sold. It's uncomplicated, served only with a ball of vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of chocolate sauce and some caramelised nuts, but when the chocolate is this good that, for me, is the way to go.

Or, if you're not a chocolate addict, you could try the torta with crème diplomate and berry compote (£9). This indulgent layer cake is airily soft and the compote offers sweetness and tartness in equal measure.

All in all, this is a splendid modern take on traditional trattoria fare. Everything, from the decor to the dishes, has a contemporary twist, but the heart and soul of the restaurant is rooted in classic techniques and flavours, brought to life with clear care and attention.

Dan McEvoy was a guest of Tortello.

Dan is a financial journalist who, prior to joining MoneyWeek, spent five years writing for OPTO, an investment magazine focused on growth and technology stocks, ETFs and thematic investing.

Before becoming a writer, Dan spent six years working in talent acquisition in the tech sector, including for credit scoring start-up ClearScore where he first developed an interest in personal finance.

Dan studied Social Anthropology and Management at Sidney Sussex College and the Judge Business School, Cambridge University. Outside finance, he also enjoys travel writing, and has edited two published travel books.