Review: Mucci’s Chelsea
Review: Mucci’s Chelsea
Of all the wonderful offerings of Chelsea’s King’s Road, Mucci’s is certainly not one to be missed. A cosy, intimate affair with a glamorous yet welcoming atmosphere, it’s a delight of authentic Italian dining. The owner Giuseppe is a familiar face on King’s Road, often coming into the restaurant to personally greet guests and offer his recommendations. The whole experience is elevated into something both personal and sophisticated, and proved the perfect start to my weekend when I went to try it out for myself on a Friday evening.
The restaurant has recently relaunched with a new concept called ‘10/20,’ restructuring the entire restaurant around fixed pricing by course to simplify the restaurant bill. Rather than a set menu or limited offer, the entire menu now follows this format, making it one of the few London restaurants to structure its whole concept around fixed pricing by course.
The restaurant is hard to miss, its recognisable blue-and-white exteriors giving way to an elegant staircase leading into the interiors. The restaurant was already filling up with diners, a mixture of Chelsea regulars and others coming in for an end-of-week special treat.
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We began with cocktails: my mojito arrived gorgeously presented with some sparkly accoutrements (apt for the beginning of the weekend) and my dining partner enjoyed his negroni so thoroughly that he was quickly asking for another. At this point Giuseppe came over to introduce himself and say hello, and recommend us some dishes from the menu. I was gently roped into slicing some parma ham for myself: this involved a very glamorous-looking contraption which used a circular mechanism to very finely slice the ham. It proved to be very worth it: the ham was utterly delicious and salted to perfection, enjoyed accompanied by a taster of truly wondrous garlic focaccia.
Giuseppe was eager for us to try as much as possible, so we settled on one dish from each course. We began with a starter of tuna tartare, a perfectly light opening bite paired with avocado and lime gel. From the meat and fish course we had ordered vitello tonnato, a classic dish of roasted veal, thinly sliced and covered with tuna sauce, which was brought out in accompaniment with our starter. The veal was exquisitely cooked and sliced and the sauce was deliciously elevating but not too overpowering.
Next came pasta: we opted for trombette norma, a Sicilian recipe with tender aubergine and ricotta. Named for its shape, the trombette was twisted into cute trombone-shaped pieces, adding a sprinkle of whimsy. The sauce carried a flavoursome tomato kick offset by the deeper flavour of the aubergine, and since we still had one more course to go, the dish was not too filling!
The final course was arguably the main event: a pizza to share. We had ordered the Testarossa, topped with a tomato base, mozzarella, parmesan, spicy salami, Tuscan sausage and basil. It was so good that despite our encroaching fullness, we managed to polish it off between us.
No visit to an Italian restaurant is complete without tiramisu. We shared one between us: heavenly creamy and the perfect way to top off dinner.
A trip to Mucci’s is certainly a great way to start off your weekend; we headed out for drinks afterwards, suitably dined and buoyed from the great service and warm, friendly vibes.
442 King’s Rd, London SW10 0LQ
