Barrafina - Balls & Company - Luxardo at Obica

Three more lovely London eateries ticked off this week (only a few hundred to go):

Monday 20th July - Despite visiting 900 odd food & drink places in the last two and a bit years, my London restaurant wishlist still has some big hitters on it - The Clove Club, Typing Room, Restaurant Story, Kitchen Table and Gymkhana to name a few.  

And then there's Barrafina.  Not only have I not been to the Michelin-starred Soho institution, the Barrafina boys have kindly added two more to my list with outposts on Adelaide Street and Drury Lane (which opened last Friday).  All three have entirely different menus full of tempting tapas plates (except for their Classic Tortilla) so I can't even claim a hat-trick in one visit! In order to stop the rot, I went along to their latest opening for a light lunch with Dad The List.

To cut a long story short, it was excellent. The service was friendly with Eddie Hart milling around in the background, and the plates were superb.  You can't really go wrong, but you shouldn't leave without getting something from their Tortillas Y Huevos section.  Our Pheasant Egg & Morcilla de Burgos (flavoured with cumin) on Toast (£6.50) was outrageously tasty - perhaps the first sign of #BarrafinaBrunch? Order it.

Elsewhere Courgette Flowers stuffed with Cream Cheese & Goat’s Cheese (£7.80) and Baby Gem with Botarga, Walnuts, Pancetta & Manchego (£6.80) impressed, whilst Raba de Toro / Oxtail stuffed with Pine Nuts, Walnuts and Leeks (£9.50) and Milk Fed Lamb Sweetbreads (£12.80) kept my nose-to-tail fan of a father happy.

Pheasant Egg & Morcilla de Burgos on Toast

Pheasant Egg & Morcilla de Burgos on Toast

Courgette Flowers stuffed with Cream Cheese & Goat’s Cheese

Baby Gem, Botarga, Walnuts, Pancetta & Manchego

Baby Gem, Botarga, Walnuts, Pancetta & Manchego

Ordering an extra dessert is standard Dad The List practice. We diplomatically shared Leche Frita (Fried Custard) with Plum Jam (£6.50) and Torrijas (French Toast) soaked in Cinnamon & Orange with Pistachios & Creme Fraiche Ice Cream (£6.80) before diving in to Cuajada - a pot of milk curd served simply with hazeulnuts on top and honeycomb on the side. Glorious stuff, if not as memorable as Ollie Dabbous' curd creation.

Torrijas - French Toast soaked in Cinnamon & Orange with Pistachios & Creme Fraiche Ice Cream

Leche Frita - Fried Custard with Plum Jam

It's the usual no reservations stuff I'm afraid, but the Drury Lane site is your best bet for avoiding queues currently.  Get over there for lunch (Monday to Saturday) when it opens at 12pm and take whatever seats are going!  Alternatively, email events@barafina.co.uk to book a private dining area on the lower ground floor for up to 28 guests.  I'm to visit the other two before they open another one...

Barrafina Drury Lane - www.barrafina.co.uk

43 Drury Lane, Covent Garden, London

Monday-Saturday - 12-3 // 5-11

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Wednesday 22nd July - From Barrafina to Balls and Company - Timeout's restaurant of the week was unsurprisingly busy, so I popped down to look at their basement bar space that will look after hungry Londoners until a table is free (much like in Pitt Cue Co & Flat Iron).

Cocktails are well priced at £7 - Malt'N'Monkey is a dangerously drinkable Manhattan on ice with a chocolate bitter twist, whilst Gin Dilla is, well, gin and dill, with salt and fresh lemon balm for complexity.  And then there's Company Iced Tea - a bonkers mix of red wine, Early Grey and orange infused vodka, raspberry, strawberry, agave and orange brúlée.  It's surprisingly well-balanced!

For some moody Balls & Co. shots in Black & White, head to Matt The Tumblr

Malt'N'Monkey - Whisky, Sweet Vermouth, Chocolate Bitters, Cherry Liqueur, Citrus Twist (£7)

Gin Dilla - Gin, Dill, Lemon Juice, Cucumber, Salt, Fresh Lemon Balm (£7)

Back upstairs, a complimentary bowl of ultra-thin, moreish parsnip crisps is the first sign that Balls & Company isn't a gimmick. Owner and head chef Bonny Porter (2012 Australian MasterChef Finalist) is the second.

Alright, at the heart of it there's a list of balls to choose between (served in fours with a sauce for £8), but you've also got sides and specials like Ricotta, Summer Peas & Pangrattato (£4) vying for attention. Our simple but sensational salad of Heirloom Tomato, Oregano & Balsamic Pearls (£4) threatened to steal the show. Mac'N'Cheese Arancini was always going to be a winner, though £7 is steep for four cheesy rice croquettes, even if they are served in an adorable little pan.

Mac’n’Cheese Arancini (£7)

Mac’n’Cheese Arancini (£7)

Heirloom tomato, oregano & balsamic pearls (£4)

Back to the balls, we went for Wagyu (served medium rare - £1 supplement) with a Romesco sauce of red pepper, tomato, almond, hazelnuts and garlic and Salmon with Dill and Seeds with a Pesto sauce consisting of basil, lemon, garlic and cashew nuts.  The meat and fish were beautifully cooked and seasoned, and satisfying sauces left room for the balls to shine.  I'll be back for Bonny's Pork Balls (with ricotta, parmesan, milk bread, pine nuts, basil & sage) along with the Quinoa with beetroot and feta that a trusted source recommends.

Wagyu balls (+£1 - £9) served medium rare (+1), with a Romesco sauce (red pepper, tomato, almond, hazelnuts & garlic)

Salmon balls (£8) with dill and seeds, with a Pesto sauce (basil, lemon, garlic, cashew nuts)

But wait, the show's not over.  Do not leave without getting yourself Bonny's Brownie served with Purbeck Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Persian Fairy Floss (£5).  Once we finished playing with Gandalf's hair, a serious dessert emerged underneath and then quickly vanished.

Brownie with Persian Fairy Floss, Purbeck vanilla bean ice cream (£5)

Brownie with Persian Fairy Floss, Purbeck vanilla bean ice cream (£5)

Balls & Company is a fine addition to the increasingly exciting north end of Greek Street that also boasts Bo Drake and marvellous Milroy's. Stumble in to the shambolic New Evaristo Club at the end of it all and you've got yourself quite an evening!

Balls & Company - ballsandcompany.london

58 Greek Street, Soho, London, W1D 3DY

Monday-Saturday // 12pm-11pm

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Tuesday 21st July - To finish, some snaps and words on a fun evening at Obica Mozzarella Bar, Pizza & Kitchen in Poland Street (one of four London branches, many more worldwide). 

I dropped in for a #NewSeasonFeast of Obica's finest and freshest produce, plus some original cocktails showcasing Luxardo liqueurs created by brand ambassador mixologist "G" Franklin.  I already knew the Luxardo team well having been on a memorable trip to the distillery in Padua but it was a first visit to Obica.

We started with a refreshing Luxardo Fresco (Luxardo Maraschino, tonic water, fresh lemon juice, cucumber, fresh rosemary, and a cheeky spray of absinthe) which was a great vehicle for their aromatic Maraschino.

Luxardo Fresco - Luxardo Maraschino, tonic water, fresh lemon juice, cucumber, fresh rosemary, absinthe spray

As the second cocktail was prepared, we tucked in to a buffet of burrata, bresaolo and more.  A whopping 1kg ball of classic mozzarella (£38) was the star of the show, ably supported by some outstanding hay-smoked affumicata mozzarella balls of a more manageable size served with various pestos and focaccia.  Seasonal salumi (Soppressata di Gioi, Salame Nero dei Nebrodi, Salame di Mora Romagnola, Capicollo di Azze Anca) and Caponata alla Siciliana (aubergine, pine nuts, almonds, raisins, capers and vinegar) were also in great supply which was dangerous.

We also tucked in to some superb pizzas (prepared with Petra flour) - most notably the special with Pomodorino di Piennolo (Tomatoes) from Mount Vesuvius National Park, plus buffalo mozzarella and olives.  Each month, Obica collaborate with Presidi Slow Food to showcase small, artisan Italian food producers and products, and the exotic Piennolo Tomatoes will be around until the end of August (when Prosciutto di Nebrodi with figs takes over) or a bit longer if you are lucky.

In their honour, G created the Obica Spritz - a mix of Luxardo Aperitivo, Piennolo tomatoes, lemon, and basil, topped up with prosecco; quite the opposite of a Bloody Mary!  It will be available at Obica in August and September.

Hay-smoked mozzarella with basil, tomatoes and focaccia at Obica

Luxardo Aperitivo, Piennolo tomatoes, lemon, and basil, topped up with prosecco

For dessert, we shared out Obica's Torta di Capri (a warm almond and chocolate cake) which was the perfect partner to G's third drink of the evening, the Fashionista - a boozy Boulevardier twist with Luxardo Sangue Morlacco Cherry Liqueuer in place of sweet vermouth, and a generous splash of salty smoked mozzarella water. Ingenious!

Fashionista - Luxardo Sangue Morlacco, Bulleit Rye, Campari, Smoked Mozzarella Water

Torta di Capri - Warm Almond & Chocolate Cake

To finish, G went all festive with a Venetian Christmas - Luxardo Sangue Morlacco, Hot Americano Coffee, Christmas Spice and Double Cream.  I'm still not sold on hot cocktails but Irish coffee fans would enjoy this Italian twist.  Scroll down to see my current favourite Luxardo serve.

Venetian Christmas - Luxardo Sangue Morlacco, Hot Americano Coffee, Christmas Spice and Double Cream

Obica & Luxardo worked very well together, and they are both especially appealing in the Summer months.  I suggest you get yourself over to Obica from 5pm-7pm every day for Aperitivo Hour for free taster plates with drinks - an Italian tradition that really should have taken off here by now.  Don't miss the smoked mozzarella, and get yourself a Pomodorino di Piennolo pizza before it's too late!

Obica Poland Street - obica.com // Luxardo Liqueurs - luxardococktails.com

19-20 Poland Street, London, W1F 8QF 

Mon-Sat - 12pm-11pm / Sun 12pm-10pm

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Matt The Luxardo / Luxardo The List

 1 Quiquiriqui Matatlan Mezcal

0.5 Luxardo Maraschino

0.75 Luxardo Aperitivo

0.75 Lime Juice

A.K.A Division Bell (created by Philip Ward at Mayahuel NYC)

Usually made with a smoky Del Maguey Mezcal and Aperol

Shake with ice and strain into chilled coupe - garnish with a grapefruit twist

Luxardo Distillery in Padua // Food, Drink & Art in Venice

MATT THE TRIP - A little jaunt to Padua & Venice to see the Luxardo Distillery in action with the Luxardo family, Craig Chapman from Cellar Trends, The Cocktail Lovers aka Sandrae & Gary, Mark Ludmon from Bar Magazine, Douglas Blyde & Su-Lin Ong.

Day 1 - Gatwick, 11.30am, flight to Italy in two hours.  Only one way to pass the time with drinks journalists - two rounds of Negronis and snacks from Jamie's Italian.  Matteo Luxardo, 6th generation distiller joined us for the flight, after a busy week of Luxardo promotion in London at Imbibe Live.

The first round were fine examples of the genre, but the second efforts were oddly different.   There would have been time for a third variation had we known in advance that our plane was delayed due to an inoperable loo - I've never heard that one before.  The pilot dealt with it like a true Brit - he came down to the departure lounge and advised us all to go for a pre-flight toilet trip.

Jamie's Negroni at Gatwick

From Venice airport, we drove to Montegrotto, a sunny spa town frequented mostly by Italians over 70 according to Matteo.  After a quick spritz / negroni in the hotel bar, we popped over to nearby Ristorante Cencio, a charming restaurant with a cosy garden on the hillside.  We started with a glass of Luxardo Sangue Morlacco with Prosecco, the first of many cherry based treats.  The combination doesn't have a name yet, so all suggestions are welcome!

Luxardo cherry liqueur was renamed with the curious name of Sangue Morlacco (Morlacco blood) by the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio in 1919, at the time of the Fiume military expedition, due to its dark red colour and in honour of the Morlaccos, fierce warriors of Dalmatia who fought for the Republic of Venice and defended their homeland against the Turks.  It is a liqueur of marasca cherries (a sour cherry variety exclusively cultivated by Luxardo), obtained by the infusion of fermented marasca juice, matured for two years in larch vats.  It does wonders for a Blood and Sand (with rye whisky, Angostura bitters & orange juice).

Fountain at Gran Hotel Montegrotto Terme

Ristorante Cencio in Montegrotto

Sangue Morlacco - now available in the UK

A fantastic dinner of aperitivo plates and fish followed, starting with two different fish tartares and octopus carpaccio.  This was followed by fried zucca flowers with anchovies (first of many on the trip), zucchini tart with fondue sauce, a wild herb soufflé, and porcini mushrooms served with polenta.  That would have been enough for any normal evening, but we pushed on with two beautifully cooked turbot twins on a bed of moreish potatoes, and an impressive tray of salt crusted seabass.

Matteo, "the wild child of Italy", kept us entertained with stories about his relations & upbringing, including his time in the navy, reminding us that whilst Luxardo is a worldwide brand, it is still just a family business.

Social media reaching the Italian hills

Small plates at Ristorante Cencio

Turbot twins at Ristorante Cencio

Salt Crusted Seabass

After the savoury courses, we had a pause with some Apricot Liqueur and Sangue Morlacco making its way round.  Hopefully, we might soon see Luxardo's Albicocca Liquore Della Lupa (Apricot liqueur of the she-wolf!) turning up in bars around the UK.  Lupa, the symbol of Rome, is reffered to after the liqueur won an award there all the way back in 1935!

Liqueur of the she-wolf

The evening finished in style with a boozy glass of vanilla ice cream laced with Sangue Morlacco and garnished with a luxurious Luxardo cherry.  The perfect nightcap ahead of a busy Friday.

Sangue Morlacco laced ice cream

Day 2 - After a healthy breakfast by the pool surrounded by octogenarians in loose-fitting dressing gowns, we made our way over to the Luxardo Distillery, a short drive away in Torreglia.  Before taking a tour, Matteo gave us a quick history lesson.

Girolamo Luxardo, originally from Genova, was sent to Zara in Dalmatia (now Zadar in Croatia) as consular representative of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1817.  His first wife, Maria, was rather handy at making liqueurs using old monks' recipes, and in 1821 Girolamo founded a distillery to produce Maraschino. Girolamo was obviously quite a character, ending up with 20 kids (fifty years apart in age), and a second wife (originally intended for his son, but he fell in love with her on the boat from Ancona!).  

Fast forward almost century and 3rd generation Michelangelo Luxardo constructed an impressive modern distillery in Zara in 1913, though both World Wars caused closures and a lot of damage, and many family members lost their lives.  Matteo's grandfather Giorgio escaped with 3 families in 1947, and sensibly rebuilt safely outside of a city this time, in the Torreglian hills near Padua.

Firmly up to speed on the back story, we went for a wander to see the creative process behind their 5 lines - drinking liqueurs, confectionery liqueurs, fruit syrups, jams and of course, the famous cherries.

Vats from 1947 are still in use, ash for the 2 year Maraschino infusion (marasca cherry stones, pulps, leaves, branches et al) and larch as previously mentioned for the Sangue Morlacco.  Nearby, barrels of orange blossom, mandarin, bitter orange and sweet orange lie in wait to surprise a Triple Sec, one of many Luxardo products that hasn't made it to the UK yet.

No such problem for the Maraschino though, a mainstay of the majority of London back bars.  It's become an essential bottle, not only for Manhattan cocktails but also Aviation, Martinez, Hemingway Daiquiri and others.  It's one of a handful of liqueurs produced by distillation, making use once again of Luxardo's sour marasca cherries.

Matteo Luxardo

We soon moved to the futuristic bottling line, which was put through its paces in front of our eyes with some cheeky quality control tests via rogue pieces of paper.  Only James Cameron's T-2000 would have dealt with the obstacles more efficiently.

A little further on, the luxury jams were given a more hands on approach.  170g of fruit is used for 100g of jam, streets ahead of your average supermarket 55% fruit-based-ish jars.   Luxardo are famous in Italy for their confectionery products, but it's not a mass market thing for them.

The Luxardo Distillery from Matt The List on Vimeo.

Franco and Matteo Luxardo - father & son

Before a visit to one of their cherry orchards, we stopped for lunch at Ristorante di Rifugio Monte Rua, a secluded spot with a stunning view and food to match.

Su-Lin hard at work

Luxardo Aperitivo with prosecco set the tone for another excellent meal which kicked off with plates of zucchini, buffalo meat, sweet prosciutto and more.  

A cheeky plate of burrata & basil ravioli "sunflowers" with bitter chocolate shavings preceded cherry brandy soaked pork with Luxardo cherries on top, but dessert stole the show.  Peaches were flambéed live at the table with Maraschino & Sangue Morlacco, and then placed alongside semifreddo pannacotta & wild strawberries - heavenly.

Live flambéed peaches, Sangue Morlacco & Maraschino w/ pannacotta & wild strawberries

To end the Luxardo stage of the trip, we made a quick stop to look at one or two of their 29,000 marasca cherry trees, which had been harvested by just 4 people a week or two before our arrival.  To keep up with demand, the Luxardo family get local farmers to grow the cherries for them before buying them back.

Jars of the cherries bathed in sugar syrup fetch up to £8 (for 400g).  You will no doubt have had one as a garnish at some point in your life, most probably in an Aviation or a Manhattan.  They make a superb present for any budding home cocktail maker, and bartenders are always happy to receive another jar.

Cherry harvest in progress

Sour marasca cherries

Head to Matt The List on Facebook for more photos from Padua.

At this point we said goodbye to our wonderful Luxardo hosts and made tracks for Venice. An evening of spritzes, cicchetti and Don't Look Now references was ahead of us.

Free advertising for Luxardo

After a speedy turnaround at the hotel, we took to the canals of Venice to find some cosy bacari, the small bars that dish out spritzes galore and cicchetti, small plates of food, often eaten by hand or using toothpicks much like pintxos in the Basque regions of Spain.

Osteria alla Ciurma was our first stop for arancini (fried rice balls), baccala (salt cod) croquettes and bargain €3 Aperol spritzes.  In fact, despite staying only a little bit off the beaten tourist track, the cost of spritzes remained pleasantly low all night.  The high price tags attached to this "cocktail" in the UK are laughable.

Next up was the lively Cantina do Spade which lacked the basic ingredients for G&Ts and Negronis, so more spritzes arrived, along with some more fried zucchini flowers (eaten at every meal so far).

All the cicchetti were just a warm up for an enjoyable dinner at Antico Dolo, though the speakeasy style toilet and funky English translations (crunky nougat anyone?) left the biggest impression.  We washed down tasty local food (polenta, squid ink pasta, more courgettes) with Cartizze prosecco, the highly-rated variety often referred to as the "Grand Cru of Prosecco" that even has a bar named after it in London.

Whilst some went off to find one more canal-side bacaro, Craig and I came across an open air showing of Brazil vs Colombia.  We ordered two dreadful negronis and settled in for the second half near a bunch of hopeful Colombian fans.  45 minutes later, they weren't so happy, James Rodriguez was in tears and Neymar was on his way to hospital.  Bed time.

Day 3 - We had a free morning before our flight home so I squeezed in a trip to the Doge's Palace (Bridge of Sighs and all that), a 30 second gondola ride, a quick whip round the Guggenheim and some more food & drink.

View from the Bridge of Sighs

The Angel of the City at the Guggenheim

Cheeky sculptures inspired by Picasso sketches

Peggy Guggenheim's dogs

Our last stops were the classic Caffe Rosso for one last spritz, Grom for superb gelato and Ristorante Terrazza del Casin dei Nobili for lunch on the waterfront.

Ristorante Terrazza del Casin dei Nobili

Pasta with Arugula Pesto & Prawns

Il Cagalibri - type that into Google

And what better way to end the trip than by travelling to the airport in a speedboat driven by a fashionable Venetian called Mario?

The Cocktail Lovers

It was a short stay in Venice and Padua, but we certainly made the most of it.  The Italians know what they are doing, and I expect I will be back in that part of the world before too long.  

Endless thanks to Su-Lin, Craig from Cellar Trends and the Luxardo family for organizing such a fantastic trip filled with outstanding food and drink in glorious settings.  If only every weekend was like this...