Obicà Mozzarella Bar feels a bit like an old friend, as I have good memories of eating there on shopping trips to London years before I moved here (it was once conveniently on the designer womenswear floor of Selfridges). I’ve always thought that there’s something rather luxurious about a ‘mozzarella bar’ and Obicà was officially the first in the world.
This boutique chain is quite a success story – it was established in 2004 by Silvio Ursini and now has restaurants across Italy as well as Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles and London where there are no less than five in different parts of the city. Obicà Creative Chef Alessandro Borghese is a well-known face on Italian TV and has designed a typically Italian menu of ‘food to share’ with family and friends.
Obicà serves high quality Mozzarella di Bufala Campana from the plains of rural Campania awarded with the Protected Designation of Origin. It’s made only from the milk of water buffalo and three types are served in the restaurants – delicate, intense and robust for the smoked mozzarella.
We visited the Soho restaurant on Poland Street for a leisurely weekend lunch and to see what’s new. The recently-launched summer dishes at Obicà are all about truffles, so we indulged with a Burrata al tartufo. The burrata was as cool, creamy and artisanal as expected, but the freshly-shaved black summer truffle and infused oil really made it special. It’s definitely worth upgrading to this luxe burrata for a treat.
We accompanied it with a plate of Prosciutto crudo di Parma DOP. This air-cured, 20-month aged pork leg had a mature, almost fruity flavour and was very moreish. Another hit was the Caponata alla Siciliana, which I like to order in restaurants as you rarely find two the same. This authentic Sicilian stew had fantastic agrodolce flavours with slow-cooked aubergine, aromatic capers, soft celery, raisins, almonds and toasted pinenuts. It was also served with shards of crispy Sardinian flatbread and made the perfect match for the more subtle burrata.
It would be crazy not to try the signature mozzarella in some way, so we channelled the Naples purists and ordered a classic Bufala DOP e pomodoro pizza. Not only was the pizza enormous but it’s possibly one of the best I’ve ever had in central London. The dough was pleasingly light, airy and mellow while the organic tomato sauce was packed with naturally sweet flavour and the rich mozzarella di Bufala and torn fresh basil finished it perfectly.
I’ve had many pizzas in London (particularly some of the new-gen sourdough ones) where the core ingredients don’t mesh well together and just feel rushed, but Obicà’s is exemplary and a bit of a dark horse of the pizza scene since they don’t really shout about it.
It was a warm day when we visited, so sharing a pizza and a gourmet salad seemed appropriate. Of course, I wasn’t prepared for how mega the Pollo Ruspante would be – both in flavour and sheer size (it also comes in a slightly more modest starter size).
It was beautifully presented and packed full of smoky flame-grilled free-range chicken breast with fresh lambs lettuce, a generous amount of sliced avocado and punchy Datterini tomatoes confit. There were also plenty of fragrant black olives, whole toasted almonds and a simple, refreshing buffalo yoghurt sauce. It was a very satisfying salad and I didn’t even get food envy as bubbling hot lasagne arrived straight from the oven to the table behind us (although it did look like comfort food heaven).
Luckily we found a little room for dessert and shared a slice of Torta di Capri. This decadent flourless chocolate cake had a velvety texture and was studded with slivers of roasted almond, served with a cooling fior di latte gelato. The coffee is also really good – proper Italian coffee at its best.
We enjoyed our lunch at Obicà Mozzarella Bar not only because the food was excellent, but for the comfortable surroundings, peaceful atmosphere and lovely, friendly staff. There are countless new, exciting London restaurants to try, but Obicà is a classic that reminds you of the good life. I’ll definitely be back soon to try the weekend brunch or after-work aperitivo.
For more information and booking, visit: www.obica.com
Cherie City was a guest of Obicà Mozzarella Bar
Photos by Cherie City
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