Restaurant Review: Delamina Townhouse
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2 hours ago
Perfect for a pre-theatre bite or a long, drawn-out date night.
Delamina Townhouse is the third restaurant from Limor and Amir Chen, following the success of Delamina in Marylebone and Delamina East in Shoreditch. But how does the third Eastern Mediterranean hub, in London’s Covent Garden, measure up? Rebecca Cox reviews.
Delamina Townhouse, Covent Garden
Good service is notoriously difficult to find. You want friendly but not over-familiar, attentive but not intrusive, jovial but professional. On our Wednesday night visit, the young staff at the recently opened Delamina Townhouse are exemplary. Throughout our two-hour dinner they are charming and generous, chatting extensively with tables that engage them, offering a more discreet service to tables deep in conversation.
The service matches the setting, which is cosy and inviting, a 110-cover setting divided across multiple dining areas throughout the Grade II listed Georgian Townhouse just behind Covent Garden market. Limor Chen, who recently published her cookbook My Tel Aviv Table, is not only behind the food, but the art, too, and much of the art throughout is of her creation, including a huge wall-size textured mural that dominates one of the upstairs spaces. There is warm, low-lighting throughout, creating a homely, intimate atmosphere that accompanies great food, drinks and conversation.
EAT
And so to the food, which is superlative from first to last. But why save the best to last? Let us begin at the close, with a pudding so good it deserves its own sonnet. The Kadayif Nest is a light and indulgent take on cheesecake, a sort of cheesecake-meets-Eton-Mess that there will always be space for, even if you have over-ordered on mains. The sweet, shredded pastry nest is topped with vanilla cheesecake cream, caramelised pecans and orange peel reduction. What to say, when the ingredient list is poetry enough, apart from that this is a perfectly-balanced dessert, not too sweet, but a pitch-perfect treat that will disappear before you realise what’s happened.
Starters and mains are equally appealing. This is perfect sharing food, from the whipped caramelised kalamata dip and the crispy oyster mushrooms to the charred cauliflower with lemon-infused crème fraiche and pomegranate molasses and seared tuna with avocado puree and blackberries.
DRINK
Signature cocktails include ‘Jaffa I’ve Mist You’, a sweet orange and elderflower concoction and the spicy ‘Pearfectly Spiced’ clove-infused vodka and pear liqueur mix. There’s a decent wine list and hot and cold drinks on offer, too, all of which can be served at the stylist dining bar, the perfect spot for a pre-theatre beverage (and bite, as you’ll need to make time for that Kadayif Nest at least).
THE FINAL WORD
A homely dinner in Covent Garden’s chic new townhouse go-to: great service and mouth-watering desserts are just two of many reasons I’ll be back for another visit.
