The Bite Magazine

f you’re looking for somewhere simple,

intimate and fuss-free to dine, away

from the hustle and bustle of the city,

you may just find this in Sandy’s Row.This

narrow and quietly tucked away street

is the home of La Tagliata, a brand new

Italian restaurant located near Liverpool

Street that offers authentic and traditional

Italian dishes from the region of Tuscan.

La Tagliata opened in July this year with a

concept born out of an Italian passion for

food, hospitality and life. The restaurant

is managed by Carlo Palumbo, an ex-city

banker who discovered his real passion

while studying to be a Cordon Bleu chef.

He explains,“It has always been my dream

to create a restaurant where you are not

confronted by endless menu choices. We

focus on a few dishes with the aim to

deliver consistently the highest quality.”

Executive chef, Antonio Tonelli said to be

inspired by working in kitchens in southern

Italy from the age of 13, trained at theVilla

Santa Maria chef school. He has over 25

years’ experience of cooking all over the

world, exploring various cuisines, culinary

techniques and ingredients. However, his

true passion lies in simple and elegant,

fresh Italian cuisine. He says, “Nothing is

more important to Italians than good food.

LaTagliata for me represents home, a place

you go back for good, honest cooking and

a convivial family atmosphere…”

There is no doubt at all that La Tagliata

gives off a sense of homeliness as soon as

you walk through the door. You’ll notice

immediately that the restaurant is well

lit, minimalistic and comfortably plush

with a laid back ambience mixed with

contemporary design that nods to an

Italian villa. At first glance, it appears very

small but once you discover the number

of rooms it holds, you’ll be very pleasantly

surprised. Diners have the choice of being

seated in any of the several rooms: from

the Dispensa (pantry), Salotto (drawing

room) or Studio (study), to the Sala da

Pranzo (dining room), Biblioteca (library),

Cantina (wine cellar) and Salla della

Musica (music room), all seating up to 10

people each. One of the first things that

caught my eye were the violins hanging

on the wall, having not realised at first

that we were standing in the music room.

Looking around, you’ll notice quirky

touches such as bespoke Modigliani-style

paintings and bottle-lined walls, as well as

bookshelves laden with classic tomes and

cubbyholes with vintage pasta machines.

The restaurant also offers some exciting

discoveries including the Library with its

wardrobe-style door, the Drawing Room

with a secret bookshelf entrance and the

Wine Cellar with an open doorway which

is ideal for those wanting a secluded space

for private events.

When we arrived, we were greeted by

manager Carlo Palumbo who seated us

in the Dining Room where we could see

a handful of people walking by. La Tagliata

offers a very simple but interesting set

menu consisting of a two-course or three-

course meal or if you just want something

small, you can choose to have a main

instead. Before our starter, we enjoyed

an assortment of bread: white loaf, Italian

focaccia and five cereal roll served with

olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip and a glass

of Ortonese Malvasia-Chardonnay 2012,

a medium bodied terapia (white) wine.

Currently, there is only one starter on the

menu:Tagliatelle, long, flat ribbons of pasta

made fresh daily with a choice of seasonal

sauces: pomodoro (tomato), pesto or

limone (lemon). We decided to try the

Tagliatelle with pesto and lemon in a bid to

introduce our palate to new flavours. The

pesto added an interesting and distinctive

taste to the pasta that played nicely on the

palate while the lemon gave it a refreshing

and tangy twist. The main course consists

of a meat or vegetarian option but we

decided to try both. LaTagliata isn’t just the

name of the restaurant but also the name

of their signature dish, a traditional Tuscan

dish.The British beef sirloin sourced from

a family-run Smithfield butcher, is cooked

and sliced in the Italian way, and then

served on a bed of rocket, parmesan and

cherry tomatoes with balsamic reduction.

We had ours medium rare which was

quite nice and tender, with distinctive

flavours shining through. For vegetarians,

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