What can you tell us about Aurelia?
In 312 BC, as part of the ongoing Roman expansion, the construction of the Via Aurelia road began. Over the following few centuries, what started out as a road that ran along a portion of the northern coast of Italy, was extended and now stretches as far as northern France and Spain. We imagine this historic road that brings Italy, France and Spain together may well have been the inspiration behind the name of Arjun Waney’s latest project, Aurelia in Mayfair.
Under the management of the incredibly charming Leonardo Hoxha, who spent the past 15 years over at Zafferano, the team is attentive and welcoming - fully fitting the brief for what Leonardo hopes for Aurelia; that it bridges the gap between sharing and fine-dining with a big focus being on the warmth of the service.
Where is it?
Nestled in Cork Street, once home to Mayfair’s commercial art galleries, Aurelia is a 5-10 minute walk from Green Park station. This can include a saunter along Old Bond Street for a bit of luxe pre-dinner window shopping if you should so fancy.
Walking through the door of the restaurant you realize that there couldn’t have been a more appropriate setting for it than right next door to the opulence of Old Bond Street. It’s elegant and classic in feel, which is to be expected in Mayfair. What is quite unexpected however is that it also feels incredibly inviting and comfortable.
Who’s it suitable for?
As we sat having a pre-dinner drink at the upstairs bar, we took note of the variety of people that came in through the door. We had the mature fur-coat-clad Mayfair matriarch with her dutiful husband; the young businessman waiting for his date and there was also the happy family group who chatted away merrily. It seemed like Aurelia was appealing to all types, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Where should I meet my fellow diners for pre-dinner drinks?
We arrived around 40 minutes early for our booking and intended to find a place to grab a quick drink beforehand. Unfortunately we didn’t pass any on our route there, but were relieved to find that there’s a bar on the ground floor of Aurelia that seats around 10 people.
The added benefit of sitting at the bar for your aperitif is that you get to appreciate all the stunning aromas that are lingering, tantalizingly, in the air. We knew that if the food tasted anywhere near as good as it smelled, we were going to be in for a treat.
Where should we sit?
Without doubt you should choose to sit downstairs. There are dining tables on both the ground floor and the lower ground floor. Downstairs you can choose to either sit at the bar which overlooks the fiery grill, or you can choose to sit at one of the surrounding tables. The lower-ground floor is light and elegant, but also feels relaxed and comfortable. It’s the sort of place you can go to and before you know it, you’ve been there for three hours and have barely noticed time pass.
What would you recommend ordering?
As Aurelia is based on the sharing concept, you’re encouraged to select two to three starters (based on two people sharing), and there are plenty of delicious looking starters to mull over. The average price of a starter is around £9. You can pay up to £14 for the Smoked Swordfish Carpaccio or down to £5.50 for the Marinated Romano Peppers with marjoram, garlic and olive oil. We selected the Burrata with Datterini tomatoes and Basil, Tuna tartar with Oscietra Caviar and the Sobrasada (spicy Majorcan sausage) served warm with Honey and Walnut Crostini. Each was presented well and tasted fantastic. The highlight for us was the Sobrasada however. Warm and gooey sausage with a sweet and then nutty flavour burst, it was the ultimate comfort food for a cold winter’s evening.
For mains we shared the Pork Chop coated in Fennel Seeds served on braised Borlotti. The pork was plump and moist and utterly delicious. Accompanying this we had sides of Potato and Lemon Thyme Rosti and Cavolo nero with Parmigiano, Pine Nuts and Lemon which was particularly moreish. We also ordered the Salt Marsh Lamb Leg with Anchovies and Salmorigilio Sauce. This came slightly later as it needed some time on the grill. We were rather glad of the pause in proceedings however and sat gazing at our lamb turning slowing on the grill amongst the flames. When it arrived it was superb. Sweet roasted garlic cloves sat on top of the slices of lamb and provided the perfect balance to the salty anchovies and the tanginess of the sauce.
Having not enough room for both, we skipped dessert, on the recommendation that we should try the cheese. This was a good move. In the spirit of Via Aurelia we were treated to an Italian Gorgonzola, a Spanish Manchego and a pressed French goats cheese. Served with bread, walnuts, raisins, a delicious fig marmalade and some quince jelly, it was a true cheese-lover’s delight.
What’s the wine list like?
Fairly extensive and wide ranging in price. Once again wines from Italy, France and Spain are well represented. For example, the entry level red is £24 for a bottle of Manjo Fangos Les terrasses d’Eole 2010 (France), working up through Tenuta San Guido Le Difese 2009 (Tuscany) for £40 a bottle, and then on up to the likes of Guado al Tasso 2001 (Tuscany) at £580 and on to a barn-storming Masseto Tenuta dell’Ornellaia 1995 (Tuscany) for a whopping £1,120.
On a recommendation, we had a bottle of the Castello del Terriccio ‘Tassinaia’ 2006 (Tuscany) which was a nice medium-weight wine that complimented our meal well.
Is bread included?
Yes, we were offered slices of crusty white bread both at the start of the meal, and again at the mains.
How much is this going to set me back?
If you go and choose to order the best of the best, you could wind up with a very sizeable bill. Mains range from £17.50 for Crab Linguine up to a colossal £50 for the White Truffle Risotto. Fortunately the wine menu is as varied as the food menu. You can eat and drink exceptionally well whilst still remaining down the lower end of the price scale, or you can choose to indulge yourself and throw caution to the wind along with your wallet.
Overall thoughts?
Aurelia really won us over. The elegance and attention to detail that you’d expect from a Mayfair establishment is present and correct, however it’s lacking the stiffness and formality that you’d traditionally expect in partnership with that. The sharing concept will be a big step on from what Mayfair is used to perhaps, but Aurelia’s considered approach, coupled with the warm and friendly service will hopefully win over even the most hardened fine-dining regulars.
Hot Dinners were invited to eat at Aurelia. Prices are correct at time of writing.
