A shabby chic hangout

The kitchen is the star at Matilda

This is one smart operation. And I don't just mean the look - a happy collision of trad corner boozer (as Matilda was), boho loft (those oh-so-desirable globe lampshades) and shabby chic hangout.

Or the clientele, a bunch far too well-dressed for a weekday on a grungy main road in Battersea. No, the real smartness here lies in the kitchen and what comes out of it.

Running the show is Liliana Tamberi, who was previously at Giorgio Locatelli's Reffetorio. She has brought the same culinary attitude: simple mod-Italian dishes and savvy sourcing, especially for cheeses, affetati and salumi, much of which they import directly from Italy.


Served on boards with pickles, decent bread and homemade-chutneyed fruit, these are a foolproof way to kick off a meal; we had Tuscan prosciutto, coppa, fat, slippery mortadella, a stonking aged pecorino and the fluffiest, lightest goat's cheese.

Mussels were simply steamed in garlic, chilli and white wine. Meat is just herbed, grilled and plonked on the plate, but it's good meat - a handsome T-bone and a thick pork chop needed little else by way of treatment.

The simplicity of execution and the quality of ingredients means you get an excellent and idiot-proof supper. Smart, huh?

A three-course meal for two with wine, water and service costs £70. 74/76 Battersea Bridge Road SW11. Tel: 020 7228 6482. Tube: South Kensington, then 345 or 49 bus

Matilda
74-76 Battersea Bridge Road, SW11

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