Story & photo by Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling Gourmet
The resourceful Travelling Gourmet jets to London & dines in…
MAGICAL Amaranto where Italian spezialitata can be relished by those with good taste. Amaranto opened on January 31, 2011 but is already a magnet for afficionados of ‘la cucina italiana’.
The interior design theme throughout Amaranto makes extensive use of its signature colour scheme: different shades of deep red and pink. The restaurant’s décor also includes a rich combination of dark woods and textured fabrics, while marble flooring and onyx tabletops reflect the transformation from interior to exterior in the light-filled conservatory. Especially designed to frame the changing seasons in the park-like setting beyond, the conservatory opens out onto the private garden terrace, where alfresco dining under the trees in the summer months is a rare and special treat in central London. You see the hand of Pierre-Yves Rochon here who also interior-designed the Four Seasons Paris, one of my favourite hotels. He is everywhere as he also designed L’Atelier de Joel Robouchon in Singapore!
The centrepoint of Amaranto Bar is its exquisite wine wall, which runs along both sides of the bar. Custom made in chrome and glass, this impressive wine library creates a living theatre, with its candlelit sommelier’s decanting room visible through the tinted glass walls. Also special to Amaranto is its unique wine-by-the-glass offering. Up to 250 bottles of fine wines, including wines from some 20 different regions in Italy – including Piemonte, Toscana, Sicilia and Sardegna – feature on the wine list, and most are available by the glass for minimum two-glass purchase.
Amaranto Restaurant boasts a chic inner dining room, an al fresco glass conservatory patio area overlooking the garden, an intimate private dining room and outdoor dining on the private terrace during the summer months.
Chatting with humourous Chef David in his spotless kitchen, he pointed out the rear window & told me with a cheeky chuckle, “Over there is the Playboy Club…it can be very distracting sometimes when you see the bella ragazza!” Muliti-lingual Davide hails from Manta in Piedmonte, Italy.
The marvellous Menu…
I kid you not. Every dish is very well crafted and well garnished and so aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
Amaranto Restaurant
Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane
Hamilton Place
London, W1J 7DR
England
Tel. +44 (20) 7499-0888
To be continued…
The Travelling Gourmet 