Wimbledon favourite Cent Anni has just opened its first north London outpost and are serving generous helpings of Italian cuisine in elegantly refurbished surroundings.
It’s the Grade II listed former Blenheim Hotel which for 25 years housed St John’s Wood brasserie Cafe Med.
From the entrance steps to Italianate pillars, the high ceilings and wide sash windows, this landmark building on the corner of Loudoun Road and Blenheim Road is already an impressive space.
Now it has been sensitively restored with green velvet and leather seating, cream walls, pale woods and an outdoor terrace for when the sun shines on this peaceful corner of the upmarket neighbourhood.
It’s the sort of place you might expect to have eyebrow-raising prices, but Cent Anni owner Raymond de Fazio has wisely kept the costs down, portions tasty and filling, and the atmosphere informal.
We started with a deep fried zucchini fritti and a trio of arancini – balls of rice deep fried in crispy crumbs and served with a garlic mayo.
I sipped on a Hugo – a refreshing blend of elderflower, prosecco, mint and lime – while munching on the delicious appetisers.
There’s a gleaming bar and open kitchen which swiftly produced starters of salmon tartare, cut with capers and cucumber and served with a parmesan crisp, and a deep, flavoursome lamb ragu on fresh pasta, with a dollop of creamy burrata.
The beauty of a classic Italian menu is you can mix and match nibbles and starters, pasta and mains with as few or as many courses as you like. Here, starters range from £7-£14 and the pastas and mains hover between £18 and £32.
I’d be surprised if you could manage four courses at Cent Anni as the mains were all hearty – two large fillets of sea bass served with a large bowl of thin, crispy chips and a mound of garlicky buttery spinach were delicious and came in at £24.
My gorgeous slow-cooked beef arrived on the bone in a rich Chianti sauce and served on a pile of buttery ‘seriously creamy’ mash. It too was £24.
The rib-eye steak was a quality cut perfectly seared on the grill and arrived with another large bowl of thin fries.
Italian desserts are as tempting as the savoury dishes so we had to try their house tiramisu another generous portion of the classic dessert that erred more to the coffee than the sweetness of chocolate.
And a creamy, just wobbly panna cotta was livened up with a punchy blood orange marmalade.
Cent Anni clearly has value in mind with its set lunch menus at £17 for two courses and £20 for three or its Monday pasta option for £14.
This modern yet traditional Italian is certainly a welcome addition to the neighbourhood.
Cent Anni is located at 21 Loudoun Road, St John’s Wood. [email protected]
