Fiume
At a London food festival several years ago, Italian chef Francesco Mazzei went out of his way to give my mother and I an extra portion of his simply divine chocolate panettone pudding, and (quite understandably) I’ve loved him ever since.
His latest venture is Fiume (the Italian word for river) at Battersea Power Station, which overlooks the development’s contemporary water feature and the river beyond. A collaboration between Mazzei and stylish hospitality group D&D London, Fiume describes itself as ‘proudly Italian’, with a large, Mediterranean piazza-style terrace and a menu inspired by the traditional food of Francesco’s homeland, the Mezzorgiono.
Mazzei oversees as chef patron, while head chef Pasquale Cozzolino looks after the day-to-day running. And these two have more than a name in common - as well as previously working together at both Sartoria and L’Anima, they’re also from the same region of southern Italy, and now they’re serving up a slice of this particular style of Mediterranean gastronomy in SW London.
We visited on a cold Thursday evening, desperate to be transported to warmer climes. Sadly, Francesco was nowhere to be seen, but the restaurant itself is truly elegant and very beautiful, having been carefully designed by Macaulay Sinclair; the creative studio also responsible for the look and feel of hip hangouts such as Hawksmoor, Dishoom and more. Natural materials such as oak, stone and marble create a casual yet sophisticated and stylish setting, with pops of colour coming from bright cushions, and vases filled with vibrant citrus fruit. The natural light and gorgeous river views provided by vast windows are the cherry on the interior design cake.
We started in style with a glass of Ferrari (Italian sparkling wine, not to be mistaken with the car brand) and ordered a selection of antipasti and cicchetti (small snacks or side dishes, typically served in Venice). Miriam, our waitress, was incredibly knowledgeable about the menu and made some terrific recommendations which took the pressure off any decision making (something I am terrible at); it transpires that on her days off she (voluntarily) spends time in the kitchen working with the chefs, getting to know the food, and it shows.
The warm octopus salad was delicious – like most good Italian dishes it was simply prepared and celebrated the beautiful ingredients. Fresh plump tomato, slices of tasty potato, punchy black olives, salty capers and chunks of soft, meaty octopus came doused in top quality olive oil, topped with fresh pea shoots. Holiday memories came flooding back with every mouthful.
The prawns with oil, lemon, garlicky breadcrumbs and agretti (a tasty, seaweed-like vegetable) was also delicious – the smoky prawns were perfectly charcoaled, mixed with a pleasing assortment of fresh, classic flavours, again redolent of time spent abroad. The textures were also a delight; a creamy dollop of mash and the succulent, salty prawns intermingled with the crunch of the breadcrumbs and al dente agretti, although at £10.50 I had hoped for more than two prawns. On the other end of the portion scale however were the zucchini fritti – a colossal pile of which arrived hot, crisp and delightful salty, served to the table in a swishy steel frying pan. They were absolutely delicious – and dangerously moreish. The only disappointment came in the form of the visually unfortunate aubergine crocchette (a Neapolitan / Sicilian speciality, made from mashed potato and egg, covered in breadcrumbs and fried), which were surprisingly bland and somewhat claggy; the homemade chilli jam that they were served with their only redeeming feature.
After that minor blip, things went from good to even better when the pasta course arrived. We shared a bowl of completely delicious taglioni, which is made fresh on the premises every day. A generous bowl arrived, covered in a mouth-watering combination of succulent Scottish crab (and plenty of it), zesty Amalfi lemon and lashings of olive oil. It was a truly splendid bowl of proper pasta.
We then shared the seafood and fish mixed grill; a combination of salmon, squid, prawns and huge scallops arranged on top of more mash and topped with tenderstem broccoli, greens and slices of fresh chilli. The seafood and fish had been chargrilled beautifully, whilst the crunchy greens and the heat of the chilli added freshness and vibrancy.
Throughout the meal, general manager Angelo furnished us with a selection of delicious wines (all Italian, of course), including a lovely sweet wine to go with our pudding. Without Francesco on hand to supply his chocolate spectacular of days gone by, we opted for the panna cotta, which was perfection on a plate. Rich, creamy and impossibly smooth, topped with warm and juicy chargrilled segments of blood orange. Bellissima!
So all in all, an Italian triumph, with just one or two small blips along the way. Since visiting, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about that bowl of pasta. And those zucchini fritti. And that panna cotta. Safe to say I’ll be returning soon, and once the sun comes out there’s a table on that terrace with my name on it. This summer I’ll be holidaying in Battersea.
Circus West, Battersea Power Station, SW8 5BN fiume-restaurant.co.uk. Review published on Essential Surrey & SW London.
