Good old razzle-dazzle
Affordable glamour is the stated ethos of Marco Pierre White's restaurants. Nowhere is it more in-your-face and palpably enjoyable than at his recently opened Frankie's Italian Bar And Grill a joint enterprise with the jockey Frankie Dettori which replaces the Knightsbridge basement that was Chez Max.
You descend a gloomy, nondescript staircase to the sounds of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin or similar. After leaving your coats at the desk inside the doors, you turn a corner into what might be the set for a Busby Berkeley movie.
Glitter balls sparkle, bevelled mirrors surrounding the room throw out a million reflections - if not of chorus girls then of animated diners and busy staff - black Daniel Chadwick mobiles move subtly against a bronzed ceiling and red leather undercloths on large tables contribute a dramatic swagger.
The man himself loves it. Night and day, day and night, Marco is the one hanging out there.
The food suits a chap who has been all the way to three Michelin stars and handed them back. It is simple, unaffected, satisfying; no tricks, no tantrums. Bread served is a pizza base topped with either a well-made tomato purée or melted cheese. If that is pizza enough, as it was for us, there is antipasti, salads and grills to choose from.
This is a good time for ripe figs and they were served on a plate completely covered by Parma ham. Calamari fritti and mussels marinara were both well prepared and generously served.
New York Caesar salad means that it includes chopped smoked chicken. Finally, I have come to the conclusion that Caesar salad is a more successful emotive concept than a dish. A dish of the day, linguine Bolognese, had the right balance of pasta to the long-simmered meaty sauce. Lamb cutlets trimmed in the French manner were accompanied by grilled trevise (the endive-shaped cousin of radicchio) which has an agreeable bitterness.
STEAK alla Romana ( 10oz) comes with snails. This combination, says Marco, was first conceived by the renowned chef Paul Bocuse. You can take the Michelin stars out of the man, but you can't etc etc.
Desserts include a betterthanusual version of tiramisu, dusted with high-quality cocoa powder and served in a cocktail glass. I can make a better chocolate sauce than the one served with vanilla ice cream. Just gently melt a bar of chocolate of 70 per cent or more cocoa solids with a little butter and pour on. It hardens to a shell on the ice most satisfactorily.
The wine list is all Italian, with eight bottles available by the glass or carafe. Try the Formulae Sangiovese di Toscana, Barone Ricasoli at £23. Music of the crooning kind is played and, as happens at Momo, the volume is occasionally turned up to create a sort of moment of exhilaration. I can't think of a better place for a Christmas party, particularly if you don't want to hear what that chap from marketing has to say.
Frankies Italian Bar & Grill
Yeomans Row, London, SW3 2AL
