Mozzarella & More, Chelsea

Having not long returned from a trip to Tuscany, it seemed only natural that aching withdrawal symptoms for delicious Italian cuisine would kick in the second I landed on British soil. Thankfully a visit to the newly opened Mozzarella & More on King’s Road provided more than enough of an addict’s fix.

The most recent venture from ‘Made In Italy’, the company run by the Sicilian Corsaro family, has opened, only doors from the original King’s Road restaurant. Now, with seven eateries around London, the latest offering appears to be gaining the same level of Chelsea devotees. Rosalio Corsario is the owner and her brood of four, Sarah, Angelo, Giuseppe and Valentina, are all on hand in one way or another to help run the family business. Expect plenty of enthusiastic hand gesturing, wonderfully attentive staff and copious amounts of the deservedly praised buffalo mozzarella, burrata and ricotta, all made by hand in the Battersea kitchen. A starter isn’t worth ordering if you don’t have one (or all) of these on your platter. Creamy, salty and worth every calorie, they are not to be missed.

Platters of antipasti seem to be the best way to avoid the dreaded food envy of your neighbouring table. Our delightful host arranged a spread of the best of their caponata, cured meats, focaccia and mixed salads. The roasted pork belly with crispy red onions proved a particular highlight for my fellow diner; tender but crisp and melt-in-the-mouth succulent, the look of disappointment when the plate was empty was almost too much to bare.

With over 90 per cent of the menu’s ingredients imported straight from Italy to the busy kitchen, it’s no wonder every course offered a first class ticket to travel back to those cosy trattorias of Southern Italy.

The salsiccia della casa (fennel and pistachio sausages) straight off the nearby grill were unlike anything we had tasted and every sausage subsequent to our visit have proved pitiful in comparison.

No trip to an Italian restaurant is complete without a fork-twisting bowl of pasta and so with a helpful recommendation from our waiter, we opted for a steaming bowl of malfatti con vongole pesto di pomodori secchi (pasta with clams, sundried tomatoes and homemade salted ricotta). To this day, it may be the best carb-fuelled meal to pass my lips. The pasta cooked perfectly al dente, the clams plump and juicy and the shaved ricotta, tongue-tinglingly salty.

If there’s room for dessert (and there always is!) head to the delicatessen counter to choose from the beautiful array of hand-made cream-filled cannelloni, rum baba, pastries and towering cakes. Many of the sweet treats are handmade by Valentina herself and a slice of Ferrero Rocher cake or ricotta cheesecake is sure to sweeten the deal.

With so many good Italian restaurants to choose from in London, it’s always difficult to single out the best. Mozarella & More is by no means the cheapest, but when it comes to authentic, homemade Sicilian-Neapolitan flavours, this trattoria wins hands down.

Mozzarella & More
257 King’s Road
Chelsea
SW3 5EL

Tel: 020 7351 2417