Fifty years ago, mealtimes rarely deviated from their set parameters. Breakfast at 8am, lunch at 1pm and dinner at 8pm, says James Lawrence, thinking back to his formative years. It was a world defined by structure and routine, while the concept of remote and home-working was a complete anathema to most of us.
But times change. The world has been turned on its head, and the drive towards more flexible and fluid patterns in our daily lives is accelerating. This, of course, includes mealtimes. Why not the main meal at 4pm, returning to calorie counting in the evening? Why should customers be forced out onto the street at 3pm, only permitted to return four hours later?
Enter the perfect solution: all-day dining. Como Garden does not believe in stringent time schedules. You can take lunch at 12pm, or four hours later if your day permits. It is open every day, from 12 to 11:30pm. Its kitchen does not close for business. Its staff do not tell you to “go away.”
Como Garden: Open All Hours
Como Garden was opened in 2020 by the team behind Zuaya London — Spanish twins Alberto and Arian Zandi. Every aspect of the venture has clearly been fine-tuned by the brothers; if location is everything, then Como Garden should pull in a fortune for its iconic address alone. Situated next door to its older sibling, the restaurant is easily accessible on the busy Kensington High Street, a mere stone’s throw away from a tube station. The decor is simultaneously eye-catching and yet unshowy, inspired by the endless beauty of Lake Como. So there’s foliage displays and hanging plants, however, the miniature statues and central olive tree don’t feel overdone.
And then there is the restaurant’s utterly charming and unfailingly polite manager. Originally from Russia, our host offered us two welcome glasses of bubbly. I asked Alena what Como Garden is aiming for in a saturated marketplace. “To be all things to all people,” she replies.
Which is a fair summation of what Como Garden can offer: all-day dining from morning till night, or just a few libations for the already nourished. Not to mention coffee and dessert, if your sweet tooth needs satisfying. The menu, which clearly borrows its layout from the Spanish paradigm of sharing small plates, covers all the bases and offends no one. Its raison d’etre is to stay loyal to Italian classics and produce: handmade pasta served with beef ragu, Veal Milanese, Amalfi lemon baby chicken, and truffle risotto, all present and correct. It’s comfort food of a type we all crave after experiencing the conceptualised, dissected ethos that sometimes rules the fine dining and Michelin-starred scene.
Choices are made and Alena offers the wine list, which is attractively varied and fairly priced, showcasing a concise list of Italian stalwarts and emerging regions.
Como Garden: Italian Delight
Two additional glasses of Champagne nicely compliment my cheese arancini, while my companion plumps for the fried calamari. He was particularly impressed with the freshness and texture of the squid; “how often chefs destroy this delicacy by overcooking,” he notes. Perfectly seasoned and served with parsley aioli, the ‘sharp as razor blades’ aioli offset it all nicely, he reports. My arancini were similarly pleasing – few of us could resist deep-fried risotto rice and squelchy soft cheese encased in breadcrumbs.
A true test of any Italian followed: Veal Milanese. The manager perhaps set us up for some disappointment, hyping up the dish as “one of the chef’s best.” Thankfully, it was exceptional. Too many times have I encountered soggy breadcrumbs and overcooked, stringy veal. But not today — velvet-soft veal meat, surrounded by rich and buttery breadcrumbs, was simply divine. The batter was all ‘crunch crunch’, not ‘limp limp’. Game, set and match to Como Garden.
A carafe of aromatic and soft red wine sourced from the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily was a great foil for the veal — another flawless wine pairing from our charming host.
The meal ended on a high note; our unnamed pastry chef served up a superlative almond tart and pistachio ice cream, while my friend thoroughly enjoyed the panna cotta — at least, I presume so from his facial expression.
Yet please don’t get me wrong; Como Garden isn’t Michelin-grade material. Indeed, it doesn’t want to be. All-day dining is a difficult trick to pull off, particularly if you intend to maintain high standards throughout the day. But Como Garden succeeds, where others have failed.
London’s restaurant scene is about as competitive and cut-throat as any business can get, but Como Garden deserves to remain a fixture of Kensington High Street for many years to come.
What: Como Garden
Where: 37 Kensington High Street, London, W8 5ED.
Web: ComoGarden.co.uk
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