If you love Italian food and wine along with fabulous cocktails and service of the highest order from one of the very best front of house teams then a visit to Theo Randall at the Intercontinental is an absolute must. This restaurant has easily become a real favourite of ours and after yet another excellent dining experience on saturday night it’s not hard to see why.
It all began on arrival when we received a lovely welcome before being escorted to the bar area to enjoy an aperitif. Here we were greeted by Astrit who is definitely one of the best mixologists around. We got to enjoy two of his new creations. The first was the South Slope with panarea gin , aperol , lillet blanc , mandarin , lemon and bitters and the other was the Apollo with havana 7 and kraken rum , cointreau , coffee , pistachio , vanilla and citrus. These were two amazing cocktails and a great way to start the evening.
We then headed to our table and were met by Dorina , Brigida and our waiter for the evening Francisco who provided excellent service throughout the evening. On this occasion we decided to go for the a la carte menu something we hadn’t done for a while due to previous visits where we’ve loved the regional tasting menu’s and weekend brunch. We started by enjoying some Zucchini Fritte along with Focaccia and tomato crostini while finishing of our Romantica cocktail.
ANTIPASTI – Now to begin the food experience which started with two fantastic antipasti dishes. My wife opted for the Tartare di Tonno with yellowfin tuna tartare , pangrattato , rocket , capers , and amalfi lemons. I was in heaven with my Calamari in Padella with pan fried squid , cannellini beans , chilli , anchovies , parsley and chopped rocket. These were paired beautifully with a Planeta Alastro 2021 wine from Sicily.
PRIMI – We now moved on to the pasta section with the first being a Ravioli di Aragosta with dorset blue lobster , tomato and shellfish broth. My pasta dish was the one I’d seen on Saturday Kitchen that morning and it was delicious. The Ravioli di Tartufo e patate con asparagi bianchi filled with potato , winter black truffle , white asparagus , butter and parmesan. Paired once again with another excellent wine from the Planeta winery. (sorry about quality of pic).
SECONDI – It was now time to move on to the main course and easily one of the best monkfish dishes I ever had the pleasure of eating. The Coda di Rospo with cornish monkfish , charlotte potatoes , fennel , thyme , garlic , crispy prosciutto , white wine , capers and parsley. My wife enjoyed the Fegato di Vitello a pan fried calves liver with pancetta , sage , wild mushrooms and spinach. Paired with a Planeta La Segreta 2020 Nero D’Avola.
DOLCI – Now for desserts. Here my wife opted for the Cheese Course where for myself I just couldn’t decide between the Amalfi Lemon Tart and the Ricotta Cheesecake with pears , sultanas marinated in marsala and vanilla so I ordered both and what an absolute pleasure they were to. These were paired with a Planeta Passito di Noto 2019.
We finished with coffee and petit fours to bring to an end another fantastic dining experience at Theo Randall at the Intercontinental. The food was amazing , the wine was excellent , the cocktails were stunning and the service was impeccable as ever. So yes I would highly recommend a visit and it won’t be to long before I’m back again.
Thank You Theo , Dorina , Astrit , Francisco , Brigida and all the team for a fabulous italian evening and look forward to seeing you all again soon. Ciao for now.
My Hospitality Life 