Bardo is the new Italian on the block and after opening was almost immediately fully booked every night. The draw? While London is filled with pizza and pasta offerings, Bardo feels experiential. Indeed, with evocative language and a rich, red colour palette, the website promises to transport diners back to Italy’s famed Dolce Vita era, a time known for glamour and sensuality. In person, this concept comes to life with fabulous service, dramatic interiors and live music.
The menu is an example of how, when it comes to food, Italians arguably do it best. Diners are nudged towards a series of courses, starting with antipasti. Keep things light with fresh, yellow tail with datterino tomatos, soya and preserved lemon for a citrusy kick, or indulge in sharing slices of pizza covered in glistening fior di latte.
Next up are delicate bowls of fresh, buttery pasta which melt in your mouth. Options include lobster tagliatelle and classic tomatoe spaghetti, but for us, the ricotta and mascarpone cheese agnolotti with rich brown butter and leeks covered in black truffle (which is grated by the chef at your table) was ‘the one’. Topped with a swirling cheese-crafted ornament, this is true indulgence. Just when you think it can’t get any better, though, out comes the caramelized black cod. It falls apart for a succulent, moreish and truly special main course.
For afters, you might be lucky enough to meet Bardo’s charming pastry chef, who introduced us to a trio of hand-picked sweets. The tiramisu’s extra-thick layer of chocolate, teamed with ice cream handmade in-house and perfect layers of aromatic coffee-soaked sponge was a triumph.
Bardo is a great place to enjoy a lavish dinner before a night on the tiles, and many of the guests had dressed up to the nines to fit the glamourous theme. Thank goodness, then, that the cocktail menu is up to scratch to keep those in the party mood appropriately watered. .