Bella Cosa opened in early October and lays claim to being the hot new addition to London’s Italian restaurant scene, bringing the soul-warming food of Italy to South Quay at Canary Wharf. H&C News was therefore delighted to take the opportunity to assess the new restaurant now that it has had a few weeks to settle in.
Perched on the Quayside, the glass-fronted restaurant boasts spectacular cityscape views of Canary Wharf from across the rippling water.
On the ground floor, the seating is spread around a central bar and Chef’s Isle constructed of glass, marble and stainless steel, with ‘front row’ seats (see top) to watch skilled chefs at work preparing fish, seafood, antipasti, Italian Salumi meats and cheeses. An additional open-plan kitchen is visible towards the rear of the restaurant, complete with a stone oven producing gourmet pizzas that are served on the ground floor.
The upper floor provides casual fine-dining from the à la carte menu. Stylish oxblood red chairs are gathered around white linen covered dining tables, and the contemporary theme is continued in the chic decor using luxurious materials such as marble flooring and statement coloured glass lights. To the far right of the room, an Artisan Beer Corner provides a warm convivial area for guests to enjoy a wide selection of Italian craft beers. Communal scrubbed wooden tables give a rustic and relaxed feel.
An adjoining Wine Room (below) displays the restaurant’s carefully selected wine collection (90% Italian) for those who prefer the grape to the grain. This space is also perfect for private dining.
Designed by Italian interior designer Francesco Pizza, the chic interior is spread over two floors including a glass-fronted mezzanine area. On entering the restaurant, guests are greeted with a spectacular ‘living wall’ of lush green plants.
Executive Chef Kentaro Torii at the helm
A versatile restaurant with a strong Italian character, Bella Cosa has the exciting talents of Executive Chef Kentaro Torii at the kitchen’s helm. Lauded by critics in the US and Italy for his Japanese approach to Italian food, Torii is serving his signature contemporary Italian dishes with Japanese flair and presentation for the first time in the UK. His culinary style combines generations of Italian traditions with modern techniques, as well as Japanese rigor and precision.
Kentaro is working alongside a purely Italian kitchen brigade, serving dishes such as: Seasonal Risottos; Grilled Octopus, Smoked Potato Puree, Trapani Pesto, Olives, Celery Salad; 5 Cheese Ravioli, Saffron Sauce, Beetroot Puree, Suckling Pig Cheek, Autumn Truffle; and Black Cod in Prosciutto, Baby Cuttlefish in Black Ink, Polenta.
The restaurant specialises in dishes based on fresh seasonal produce of outstanding quality, with significant PDO (Protected Denomination of Origin) ingredients imported from Italy.The dishes, no matter how complex the preparation may be, are presented in a neat, unfussy, yet original and modern way. The overall aim is to surprise the customer with both simple beauty and the amazing taste of the dish.
Promise or performance?
Chef Torii has travelled, worked and explored the cuisines of regional Italy, as well as working in the USA and further afield, and this is clearly a restaurant designed to have aspirations to Michelin star status.
We were therefore keenly interested to see what its early days were promising – and were increasingly impressed as we progressed through the tasting menu.
We were greeted by a selection of canapés that excited the taste buds at once: polenta, squid ink and buratta cheese; roast beef meatballs, breaded and fried; goat’s cheese cannoli and walnut with crushed black olives; and more. Each delicious, each beautifully prepared and presented, each a promise of delights to come.
And the amuse bouche of creamed potato and mushroom consommé jelly, San Daniele ham, water melon radish and baby basil leaf certainly delivered amazing taste, with all flavours working together to great and harmonious effect.
And so to our antipasti of Carpaccio di Mare (Sea Carpaccio), which included octopus, kingfish, tuna, mackerel, anchovies, and prawns from Sicily. As can be seen from the picture above, its presentation matched the quality of the tastes with, for this diner, the taste and texture of the prawn particularly outstanding.
For the main course, we were treated to one of the signature dishes on the menu: Ravioli ai 5 Formaggi, Salsa allo Zafferano, Pure di Rapa Rossa, Guanciale di Maialino, Tartufo (5 Cheese Ravioli, Saffron Sauce, Beetroot Puree, Suckling Pig Cheek, Autumn Truffle). Richly flavoured as you would expect with 5 cheeses, but given tantalising and delicious added dimensions with the saffron, beetroot and truffle additions which individually and collectively added to the ravioli as it melted in the mouth.
For the the fish course, Merluzzo in Crosta di Prosciutto, Seppioline al Nero, Polenta (Black Cod in Ham, Baby Cuttlefish in Black Ink, Polenta) had my companion in raptures: the cod in particular excited his praise – ‘perfection’ – as the delicate cod combined with and complemented the ham.
Next came another signature dish: Pancetta di Maiale Friuliano a Doppia Cottura, Tortellini di Salsiccia, Funghi, Topinambur (Double Cooked San Daniele Pork Belly, Sausage Tortellini, Wild Mushrooms, Jerusalem Artichoke Puree). Once again, bursting with flavours and textures that challenged the taste buds to great effect and enjoyment, both the mushrooms and artichoke puree lifting the pork belly and sausage to even greater heights.
And to finish, two sumptuous desserts.
First, a pre-dessert of pina colada, pineapple, chips, compote and panacotta (pictured above): tastes to refresh and re-invigorate the palate.
Next, textures of chocolate: sponge, chocolate, hazelnut and chocolate jelly; crispy chocolate; cherry, chocolate mousse, amaretto – a feast of chocolate and textures to delight any palate, even after a tasting menu of this extent, variety and richness.
Performance achieved
The business customers, residents and visitors to Bella Cosa are in for a major surprise if they arrive expecting a ‘traditional’ Italian restaurant, or the British version of one!
No doubt the gourmet pizzas served downstairs are excellent, but the fine dining to be experienced upstairs already challenges many leading restaurants in London.
From the chic and elegant interior to the range, skill, presentation and sheer excellence of the dishes, this restaurant will surprise and excite, and looks set to build a reputation that will attract customers from the business community, as well as residents and visitors to London. It’s well worth the journey from Central London!
Bella Cosa is open Monday to Saturday for lunch and dinner, providing a versatile space for business lunches and dinners, aperitif gatherings, or dining with friends. The restaurant is located on the South Quay of Canary Wharf, a couple of minutes walk from South Quay DLR Station.
Bella Cosa, South Quay, Drewry House, Marsh Wall, London E14 9FJ
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