The trend for trattorias continues at this new Soho spot
Osteria Vibrato, the new restaurant from Charlie Mellor (he of Laughing Heart fame) has opened on Greek Street, in the heart of Soho. Named in honour of Charlie’s opera-singing background, the restaurant, much like The Three Tenors, brings together two more hospo legends: sommelier Cameron Dewar (ex-Luca) and Burro e Salvia founder Gaia Enria, who consulted on the project. The space has cute interiors inspired by the neighbourhood trattorias you find across Italy – very of the moment – and is almost like a less glitzy Dover, which suits the Soho location and offering.
Eat This
Before you begin, there’s a cover charge of £3 per person, which gets you a small plate of olives, crisp bread and regular bread (which is excellent by the way).
Looking down the list of antipasti, pastas, and mains, we decided to go heavy on the small plates and pastas, skipping the mains altogether this time around. We started with the seafood fritto misto, a mix of prawns, squid and fennel, light and crispy thanks to the type of flour they use in the batter. We followed up with the Sicilian red prawns dressed with high-grade Sicilian olive oil and lemon. Stand out, though, was the cotechino sausage with plum and swede.
The ribollita – a Tuscan soup of veggies, bread and beans – was hearty and ideal for this lovely weather we’re experiencing. The two pastas we tried, including the ricotta tortelli with tomato and butter, and the tagliatelle with white courtyard ragu (named because of the ragu, traditionally made from whichever animals were found hanging around a farm’s courtyard), were both excellent.
We shamefully skipped dessert, but if we had the space we’d have had gorgonzola with sweet wine or the baked-to-order soft amaretti. Allora!
Drink This
With Cameron’s background, you know the wine list is going to be good. We enjoyed a glass of grower champagne – the same that was served at Cameron’s wedding, no less – then moved on to some very good low-intervention Italian wines: an excellent skin contact, followed by a smashable light red from Lamoresca in Sicily. There is a short list of cocktails too, which you can take pre- or post-dinner in the bar, and they have a long list of their favourite cocktails on the menu that they will happily make you.
Why Go?
It’s an exciting new opening and it’s already humming: day five and it was packed to the rafters. Food is brilliant, wines are great, and its energy is on point. Be warned though: like all operas, when it peaks, it’s loud.
Key Information
Address | 6 Greek St, London W1D 4DE
For more information | osteriavibrato.co.uk
