TOZI Grand Cafe

Pitched as the more casual cousin to its original London outpost in Victoria, Italian brand TOZI has opened an all-day restaurant on the ground floor of art’otel opposite the newly vamped Battersea Power Station. Inspired by the grand cafes of Europe, we’d argue this ‘casual’ spot still lies on the upmarket end of the spectrum. Its stylish interiors are spearheaded by Spanish designer Jamie Hayon and, to put it bluntly, they are dazzling. Colourful tapestries, commissioned especially for the café, hang above intimate green leather booths, while a spectacular pillar box red cocktail bar featuring an impressive wall of spirits overlooks the spherical, glass-fronted dining area.

The all-day menu features a line-up of hearty Italian classics stretched between antipasti, cicchetti, pasta and secondi. There’s very little to complain about. Soft cubes of rosemary focaccia feature a delicious salt-studded crust, while crisp calamari enveloped in yielding batter required little more than a squeeze of lemon. The lobster linguine for two is a great option for those who love a bit of tableside theatre – it's wheeled to your table and served in front of you – although it's slightly underwhelming in terms of deep flavour. Instead, we found solace in a juicy piece of on-the-bone chicken breast, served with creamy polenta and baby woodland mushrooms. Don’t miss the pistachio tiramisu to finish, a light and boozy number with nutty notes.

Its cocktails are another talking point and we’d recommend starting with a refreshing Torbato, a light and subtly sweet concoction featuring jasmine tea, passion fruit cordial, white grape and apricot soda, and Prosecco.

Prices vary and you can eat as modestly or lavishly as you please – mains, for example, range from £15 to £40. Still, we can see TOZI attracting more than just the hotel’s guests and is certainly one of the best places to eat at Battersea’s shiny new complex.

For those looking for authentic Italian dishes served right here in London – here’s some good news; a small part of Venice has made its way to you. Already established in London’s Victoria and Amsterdam’s Vondelpark, TOZI is a small Italian chain which serves up the best of this country’s iconic culture. In its other branches, you will find a focus on authentic Italian dining, but at TOZI Grand Café in Battersea, the café culture of old is the order of the day.

Here, inside the art’otel, TOZI aims to recreate the magic of Europe’s grand cafes with high-quality ingredients and an authentic menu, in a stylish, informal setting. With a floor-to-ceiling glass exterior, the space feels modern and light, while a collection of vibrant art and tapestries by designer Jamie Hayon commissioned for the café brings texture and depth.

TOZI Grand Café’s menu follows all the hallmarks of a classic Italian meal. Start with an aperitivi such as a peach Bellini (which was, of course, invented in Venice) or a Milano Torino, mixing Antica Formula and Campari. Follow with a bite of cichetti or antipasti, choosing between small plates such as octopus and chickpea puree, baked scallop with ‘nduja or beef carpaccio with pickled mushrooms. Go the whole hog with a pasta course too – we think the Paccheri with cuttlefish, squid and tagglasche olives sounds like a winner. Then there’s secondi, offering a mix of fish and meat dishes, before a sweet finish of dolce and/or gelato which is a speciality here. After your meal, the drinks keep on coming with several digestivis such as an espresso martini or sweet limoncello. It would be rude not to!