Vigata Ristorante in Islington
Except for when I schlep down to Olivo and its sibling Oliveto in Belgravia, I’ve been disappointed when I eat at Italian restaurants in London. Compared to New York, London doesn’t have a huge number of Italian restos, so when I want to go Italian, I feel like I have few choices between a chain like Carluccio’s or a high-end place like Locanda Locatelli. During our (almost) three years In London, Jon and I have missed having a reasonably-priced, local neighborhood Italian resto to take the pressure off a weeknight when we’re too tired to cook.
Imagine our excitement when we saw that the always-empty Shahnaz Tandoor was finally shutting down and that an Italian resto, Vigata, would be opening in its place.
Vigata opened for business on 17 July. Jon and I have already eaten there twice. The menu prices have changed about a dozen times already. It’s fair to say that Vigata is still working out the kinks, but here’s what I think is promising about Vigata:
1. The owner and staff are Italian, and though I think they’re currently pretty amateur hour, they seem super well intentioned. For example, despite a menu-pricing incident I had the first time I ate there, I still left feeling like the owner wanted me to have a good time and to enjoy their food.
2. The menu has finally switched from a variety of prix fixe structures to an a la carte one. Hopefully things stay this way so I can pop by and have one of their generous portions of perfectly al dente pasta for £10-£15.
3. Tap water is no problem (yay! an Italian resto that doesn’t hassle you about tap water), and wines are priced to be casual-night-out friendly, with most hovering around £20.
seared prawns and scallops with fennel salad
The food has been a mixed bag both times I’ve eaten there. On the less-ideal side: The spaghetti in a “spaghetti with clams and mussels” dish was deliciously buttery but the mussels that came with it were mealy and flavorless. Gnocchi served in a pesto was pillowy, but potato starch had made the pesto pretty gloppy. A swordfish main course was overcooked to dull hardness.
On the very-promising side: a caprese salad that could’ve been a total throwaway nothing dish actually showed some care with its creamy, rich-but-light-as-air buffalo mozzarella and the juicy, sweet tomatoes. A squid ink ravioli was perfectly al dente and briney. A scallops-and-prawns fish course came with a fennel salad that added crunch and heightened the sweetness of the seafood. *And* it was pretty to look at.
Overall, there are more pluses than minuses, so I have high hopes the food and service will only get consistently good. Welcome to the neighborhood, Vigata.
Vigata Ristorante, 70-72 Liverpool Road, N1 0QD, 0207 226 1475; closest tube station: Angel
How lucky to find a neighbourhood restaurant that has potential to be a favourite! Those scallops look perfect. Did you use your other camera, or have you found your Elph?
Yup, I used my DSLR with no flash. I took the photo as quickly as possible, so I don’t think anyone saw me whip it out, but I was definitely stressed out using it in the resto. I’ll pick up a new point and shoot when I’m back in the US in early September for a friend’s wedding (might as well save money that way since I had to buy the plane ticket anyway).
If you want a good a few Italian neighborhood restaurants, I can recommend two in Chelsea. One is Osteria Dell’Arancio, which specializes in the cuisine of Le Marche — you will get dishes that are very unusual for London, like brodetta (a seafood soup). It’s probably a bit more than a neighborhood place, as it is a bit of destination. Prices are about £8-14 for a primi, and £15-24 for a secondi. Not cheap, but won’t kill you either. It is opposite Eight over Eight.
The second one which is further down the King’s Road is La Familiga. Very good Tuscan and traditional Italian standards. Great risotto.
Hi Will, thanks for those recs. While Chelsea is kind of a schlepp from my neighborhood (Angel, Islington), I’ll try out Osteria Dell’Arancio next time I’m in Chelsea. I’ve been to La Famiglia before, but I didn’t try the risotto, so good to k now it’s good there.
I should probably update this blog entry because every time I walk by Vigata, the menu and decor get scarier. There are now gold damask tablecloths and candles everywhere, so I have the feeling they’re trying to go pricey old-school, rather than contemporary neighborhood hang-out. I perhaps spoke too soon about having, finally, a nice neighborhood place for when I don’t feel like cooking.
You should update your review as the original founder of vigata is not longer part of the restauant due to a dispute.
In actual fact, the onwer is and Englishman Not an Italian.