Amico Bio in The City

With the advent of spring, it’s time for London to finally see some greenery. Not only is it showing up on trees and parks but it is also making an appearance on the plates of vegetarian restaurant Amico Bio. But to dismiss the restaurant as merely serving rabbit food is to do a massive disservice to the efforts of head chef Pasquale Amico.

His new menu features dishes which are either free from meat, dairy, gluten or a combination of all three. The influence of his southern Italian background permeates the entirety of the menu with regional specialities given the vegetarian or vegan treatment.

After some homemade focaccia bread and Gaeta olives, it was onto a fennel, rocket and orange salad. Its appeal lay in the interplay between the orange and fennel, the sweetness of the fruit taking the bitter edge off the fennel. As a salad, it was a good set up for the rest of the meal, light and with a good contrast of flavours.

After the salad, it was a dry broad bean soup with homemade fennel seeds bread. This soup was the kind of soup that would normally contain meat when served in its native country. I felt that this was the missing ingredient in the soup that we were served. By itself the soup was rather pallid, thick on beans but thin on any kind of potency.

It’s all kinds of wrong to wish death on a defenceless animal simply to improve a soup. But I suddenly found myself pining for a chicken, wheezing and bereft after a harsh winter, to come stumbling through the door. For it to look up at me with a knowing finality in its face, for us to exchange a smile of acknowledgement and for its last movement to be a dignified swoon into my bowl. But alas, the door to the restaurant did not swing open and I went without.

Next up was a pan-fried cauliflower and potato cake with a carrot salad. This was a much more appetising affair with the cake being flavoursome and combining exceedingly well with the carrot salad. The freshness of the ingredients was immediate in the taste. The lightness of the cake contrasted with the crunchy carrots.

To finish off was a pearl barley, ricotta and chocolate cake. It was much fuller and heavier than the dishes that had gone before, the extra richness coming from the welcome return of dairy. The mixture of chocolate and ricotta was wonderfully luxurious. The pearl barley gave it all a well-settled context and it really was a smashing end to the meal.

Pasquale Amico has succeeded in putting together a ravishing menu for the spring. The choice of dishes makes Amico Bio a decent shout for lunch. You leave full but not bloated, which is more than you can say about your average steak house.

Amico Bio
44 Cloth Fair
The City
EC1A 7JQ

Tel: 020 7600 7778