The beautiful dining room at Sale e Pepe Mare
Isn't there already a Sale e Pepe in Knightsbridge?
There is; the original restaurant opened its doors in Chelsea back in the early seventies and its old-school charms are still drawing in a glamorous crowd (a recent diner was one Mr George Clooney). Three years ago, just a few years shy of its 50th anniversary the restaurant was bought by The Theselff Group who are behind Los Mochis and Viajante87. Now they've opened a second branch which, as the name suggests, has more of a seafood bent to its menu.
And where is this new one?
You'll find it inside The Langham, London. It's taken over the space that was for a long time, Roux at the Landau, and more recently was the extremely short-lived Mimosa. Having not managed to try Mimosa before it closed, or been into the Roux restaurant for years, we had to resort to Google images to see just how the restaurant had changed. The answer is a lot.
This is one of those rooms where designer Manuela Hamilford (who also did the group's Juno sushi restaurant) deserves a round of applause. She's transformed this rather dated hotel dining room into an absolute dream - it's now one of the nicest looking places to dine in this part of town.
Speaking of which, you'll find the restaurant with its own entrance on Langham Place, just opposite the BBC. It's less than a five-minute walk from Oxford Circus tube.
The entrance to Sale e Pepe Mare lit up
Where should we meet friends for a drink first?
There is a rather nice bar to perch at inside the restaurant - we didn't try a cocktail, but we hear that they do a nice line in Negronis. There's also the hotel's own Artesian bar, which is great for cocktails. And if you'd prefer a beer first you still don't have to leave the hotel because there's always their own pub, The Wigmore, for that.
The bar at Sale e Mare
Where should we sit?
If you are planning a big bash, there is a particularly nice private dining room here with room for 18. In the main room itself there are a series of central booths for larger groups and the tables near the window are also very nice.
And what's on the menu?
You'll find a range of Italian dishes on offer here, with classics from the original restaurant's menu along with new dishes to reflect the emphasis on seafood. They also go big on tableside theatre, so if you enjoy that, there are dishes like the Caesar salad and bucatini cacio e pepe that'll be finished off in front of you. It's a massive old-school Italian menu, and if you fancy trying the dishes that Sale e Pepe became famous for, they're handily highlighted for you.
Here's what we ordered:
In the background, you'll see the Caviale Pommes Anne (£34), potato cakes topped with Oscietra Caviar from the cicchetti section. At the front is the Otoro Toast (£17), which was even better, with a layer of confit tomato and garlic on top of the brioche and under the slice of raw tuna.
Carpaccio di capesante (£23) - a very pretty dish of raw scallops in a lovely lemony vinaigrette with a bit of smoked chilli for a kick.
Tartare di ricciola (£24) - even better than the scallop was this timbale of amberjack tartare with a lemon chive emulsion.
At this stage we would have veered into the antipasti section but our chosen dish of vitello tonnato was off. So we instead went straight to the primi for these two gems.
Tagliarini al granchio (£45) a tower of king crab pasta with datterino tomatoes. Very nice but completely eclipsed by the following...
Penne con ragu di vitello (£36), recommended by our lovely waiter, this was an insanely good plate of pasta.
Next, you could head into the seafood towers section, opt for the catch of the day cooked a variety of ways - including poached with acqua pazza and salt crust, or choose from a small selection of meat cuts cooked on the Josper Grill. But we decided to stay on brand and go for the secondi of Dover Sole.
Dover sole (£70) filleted tableside and served with a simple but very effective EVOO and Amalfi lemon sauce.
Room for dessert?
Battling away the GM's entreaties to ply us with a selection of all the desserts, we went for both of the coffee-favoured options on offer.
Homemade tiramisu (£15) - served out of a massive dish and one of the creamiest we've had the delight to try.
Affogato (£11) - we're not sure what they put in either the espresso or the vanilla ice cream but this was fantastic.
What about the wine list? Italian, presumably?
Yes, they place an emphasis on coastal Italian wines, but there is also a roaming Champagne trolley, so it's not an exclusively Italian list. Of the wines we tried, our favourite was the Soave from the Pieropan family, which was £16 a glass.
The Champagne trolley in action
Overall thoughts:
There have been so many Italian restaurants opening in London this past year, that's it's become increasingly difficult to distinguish one from another. But Sale e Pepe Mare manages not only to stand out from the crowd, but also to turn a lacklustre space into a scene. The Langham made a clever deal here, bringing in an established restaurant to take over their main hotel dining room. This place is glamorous and fun, and in week two of opening was completely packed out on a Saturday night. They seem to have found the winning formula.
More about Sale e Pepe Mare
Where is it? The Langham Hotel, 1c Portland Place, Regent Street, London W1B 1JA
How to book? Book online.
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @langham_london
Hot Dinners dined as guests of Sale e Pepe Mare. Prices correct at time of publication.
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