Zucca is doing for Bermondsey what Noma is doing for Copenhagen it seems: putting a hitherto unthought of destination on the culinary map and making a journey there a necessity. And with venues like The Draft House pub and Magdalen also receiving critical acclaim, the area seems to be enjoying something of a restaurant renaissance. We felt compelled to check it out. We were also delighted to be joined on this occasion by the skinny bib who has a great blog that you should also check out.
Zucca is clean and crisp and the staff are generally smiling because they want to, not because they have to, normally a good sign. Despite the snow and the late lunching hour, the place remains buoyant with a relaxed buzz to the room. There’s a white theme, a wood theme and a little bit of concrete theme as a nod to the area’s industrial working heritage.
Continuing the clean lines, the menu comes out printed on weighted paper, no leather wallet. The real beauty behind this nevertheless is substance over style: the menu is constantly changing for the ingredients to hand and the season and in turn is constantly reprinted to keep pace with the change; leather wallets are superfluous. That’s surely what anyone wants from a restaurant, not the same menu from a year back offering bought in pre-prepared lasagne (possibly frozen from a year back also). And while we’re on the subject of food choice, while of course there’s nothing wrong spaghetti bolognaise or cannelloni, Zucca has considerable ambition in highlighting more progressive Italian food rather than stock favourites; the menu reflects this.
Turning to the menu itself, there’s a wide range of antipasti but just two pasta choices followed by three fish and three meat dishes. We think this is probably the right number. We’ve been to too many restaurants that offer an extensive and ostensibly great sounding menu but then fail to deliver on the promise at the individual dish level because it’s all too much for the kitchen. A shorter menu better executed is always preferable and it gives us hope that Zucca will live up to its growing reputation.
First out for the table to share is the ‘Zucca’ Fritti, zucca being the Italian word for pumpkin and also explaining why they have three pumpkins on the counter despite Halloween having passed over a month ago. As well as pumpkin there’s delicious sage. Suitably hot, this really is just out the fryer, it’s got a light crisp batter coating that makes a satisfying crunch as you bite down and became really quite moreish. It contrasted with Cafe Caldesi several weeks back that offered an incredibly disappointing Fritto Misto with a batter that we suggested at the time was reminiscent of wet cardboard. It falls to Zucca than to provide the real thing.
Zucca is clean and crisp and the staff are generally smiling because they want to, not because they have to, normally a good sign. Despite the snow and the late lunching hour, the place remains buoyant with a relaxed buzz to the room. There’s a white theme, a wood theme and a little bit of concrete theme as a nod to the area’s industrial working heritage.
Continuing the clean lines, the menu comes out printed on weighted paper, no leather wallet. The real beauty behind this nevertheless is substance over style: the menu is constantly changing for the ingredients to hand and the season and in turn is constantly reprinted to keep pace with the change; leather wallets are superfluous. That’s surely what anyone wants from a restaurant, not the same menu from a year back offering bought in pre-prepared lasagne (possibly frozen from a year back also). And while we’re on the subject of food choice, while of course there’s nothing wrong spaghetti bolognaise or cannelloni, Zucca has considerable ambition in highlighting more progressive Italian food rather than stock favourites; the menu reflects this.
Turning to the menu itself, there’s a wide range of antipasti but just two pasta choices followed by three fish and three meat dishes. We think this is probably the right number. We’ve been to too many restaurants that offer an extensive and ostensibly great sounding menu but then fail to deliver on the promise at the individual dish level because it’s all too much for the kitchen. A shorter menu better executed is always preferable and it gives us hope that Zucca will live up to its growing reputation.
First out for the table to share is the ‘Zucca’ Fritti, zucca being the Italian word for pumpkin and also explaining why they have three pumpkins on the counter despite Halloween having passed over a month ago. As well as pumpkin there’s delicious sage. Suitably hot, this really is just out the fryer, it’s got a light crisp batter coating that makes a satisfying crunch as you bite down and became really quite moreish. It contrasted with Cafe Caldesi several weeks back that offered an incredibly disappointing Fritto Misto with a batter that we suggested at the time was reminiscent of wet cardboard. It falls to Zucca than to provide the real thing.
home cured Bresaola, rocket and parmesan
sprouting broccoli and brown shrimps
Three people and three choices on the antipasti, sprouting broccoli and brown shrimps, home cured Bresaola, rocket and parmesan, and Mozzarella, romanesco, chilli and almonds. We discussed through the meal the generosity of Italian portions and we started well. Mrs CC loves broccoli and the dish worked well, drizzled too with a vinaigrette adding an edge of acidity. Impressively on the Bresaola, as the description on the menu states, it’s home cured and we’re told they really do have hanging beef on the building roof top. The dish was well balanced overall with quality parmesan and a wonderfully bold display of Bresaola rather than challenging you to a game of ‘hunt the beef under the cheaper rocket’ that many restaurants would rather play. The striking red of these brick sized slices of Bresaola contrasted by meaningful slices of pale yellow parmesan also gave the dish a satisfying aspect from the moment it’s placed on the table.
tagliatelle, pheasant & parmesan
For both of us, the pasta was the tagliatelle, pheasant & parmesan: what a winner; plenty of pheasant, plenty of flavour. Again, the quantity of pasta was in great balance with the pheasant and parmesan, and with the pasta too being made on site at Zucca, it was silky melt in the mouth stuff, holding its own on the plate. The rich depth of the pheasant was satisfying to the soul on a day when you can see snow on the ground outside. The only issue with the dish was an excessive saltiness but the quality of flavours allow us to forgive the error.
braised pork belly, chilli & fagioli rossi
Main courses for Mr & Mrs were braised pork belly, chilli & fagioli rossi, and veal chop with spinach & lemon. The halibut, fennel & clams was tempting but on such a cold day, we also wanted to curl up with a glass of red and these looked fantastic options anyway. We weren’t disappointed.
We discussed the issue of fat running through beef resulting in the beef being called marbled, what was the term for fat in pork? This rolled belly was well endowed with fat but cooked so the fat was the very best part, oozing rich pork flavours in the mouth. It’s on days like today with dishes like this that makes me care little for the heart attack I’m saving for in my retirement. The beans, cooked in pork fat also were as good as beans get for me but there seemed a few too many of them, I’d rather save space for dessert.
We discussed the issue of fat running through beef resulting in the beef being called marbled, what was the term for fat in pork? This rolled belly was well endowed with fat but cooked so the fat was the very best part, oozing rich pork flavours in the mouth. It’s on days like today with dishes like this that makes me care little for the heart attack I’m saving for in my retirement. The beans, cooked in pork fat also were as good as beans get for me but there seemed a few too many of them, I’d rather save space for dessert.
veal chop with spinach & lemon
The veal chop was also first rate. We’d had veal chop at Zafferano several months ago that from memory was at least twice the price: this was better by an order of magnitude. It’s been said that the veal chop is becoming a signature dish for Zucca and we can see why. There’s a lot of it (which means we all got to try it) but it’s done so well, again the rendered fat becoming a component part of the taste experience. This chop radiated flavour and the dish alone makes Zucca worth returning to.
panna cotta with pear together with home made vanilla ice cream with espresso
ricotta and Amaretto cake
A trio of desserts were ordered comprising panna cotta with pear, home made vanilla ice cream with espresso and ricotta and Amaretto cake. The Amaretto cake somewhat scared me on arrival for both its size and seeming density. On eating though, it was so much lighter than it looked and surprised even me how easily it disappeared from the plate. The key to its success was moisture so it didn’t suffer from the dry roll around the mouth endless times experience that will face many a cake this Christmas and so it was thoroughly enjoyed while being entirely unnecessary. The vanilla ice cream too with espresso was well done; it’s nice to know they’re doing this on site not simply buying in. At Zucca, you constantly get the feeling it’s a kitchen working hard on authentic output, doing everything in house it can and certainly more than you’d expect at this price point. How many other restaurants age their own beef and then charge just £4 a plate?
The food then was great but the other thing is that it’s so damn cheap as well. Anti pasti only a tad over £4 across the menu, pasta starters £6.50 and mains all under £14. Add that up and you’re under £25 for three course, throw in dessert and you’re still around £30. With prices like this you’re tempted to abandon trying to eat well at home and just head down to Zucca each day, it’s phenomenal value. Zafferano has a star, it was a great lunch but (understandably) at Mayfair prices. Cafe Caldesi is poor by comparison. Zucca was also a great lunch but at a whole lot less than either. Conclusion: Zucca’s growing reputation is thoroughly well deserved.
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