Last weekend, I headed west for lunch at LIV Belgravia, a fabulous new all-day restaurant just off Pimlico Road. I often forget just how pretty this neighbourhood is, with its Saturday Farmers’ Market, designer stores and gorgeous mews houses – and LIV certainly fits right in!
This is the first British restaurant from Australian Chef Damien Monley, who previously owned Sydney’s popular Flat White Cafe and Madam Char Char. Friendly and energetic, Damien came to chat with each table during my visit and emphasised his intention to offer generous, healthily-prepared dishes.
The restaurant has a chic yet unpretentious feel with lots of natural daylight, marble tables, uplifting yellow seating and a tasteful art collection with pieces by Henry Moore and Alexander Calder. Unlike some of London’s more boisterous, nosy restaurants, LIV is notably relaxed and just the kind of place you’d like to spend a few hours.
Lunch started on a high as we shared the tempting Roast chicken salad with corn, gem lettuce, crispy potatoes and chicken crackling. This was an indulgent, moreish salad with very high quality pulled chicken breast and I loved the creamy corn crush and the buttery roasties.
17-hour Wagyu beef, Japanese salad and wafu dressing was another hit. The rich Wagyu beef simply melted in the mouth and was contrasted nicely with crunchy fried onions, crisp salad leaves and an aromatic, zesty dressing with zesty lime, coriander and perhaps pomelo.
We were also keen to try the King prawn omelette with Thai basil, Asian slaw, sweet soy, ginger shallot and sriracha. This omelette was unbelievably velvety and souffléd with plenty of cream and a generous amount of plump king prawns tucked inside. The Asian slaw was the perfect accompaniment, bringing a touch of sweet sesame and punchiness from the sriracha.
The star dish, however, had to be the enormous Roast crispy pork sandwich with sweetcorn, rocket, apple, aioli and plum chutney. Thick slices of herby, succulent pork belly and puffed crackling were packed between slices of toasted sourdough with more of that yummy sweetcorn, tiny shards of green apple, flavourful aioli and lovely caramelised onion jam (although I didn’t quite detect the plum chutney).
For dessert, we went for the Aussie brunch-inspired Ricotta hotcakes with cinnamon butter, berries, seeds and organic maple. They were ever so light and fluffy and the toppings gave that extra touch of indulgence.
The cake of the day was a hefty, decadent Chocolate brownie served with a quenelle of vanilla cream. It had a dense, gooey centre and a cake-like crust and was definitely big enough to share.
We were also really impressed with the House-made scone with clotted cream and jam. It was buttery and golden with delicious accompaniments and very good value at only £3.50.
The only let-down was the Freshly-squeezed orange juice, which was weak and frothy with added banana rather than the robust, sweet juice I was expecting. However, the Fresh mint tea more than made up for it and the free Japanese charcoal filtered water was a nice touch.
LIV Belgravia may be picture perfect, but it balances style with substance and the cooking is seriously next level. It’s sure to become a big hit with the Chelsea brunch crowd and with a creative dinner service arriving later in the autumn, it’s set to be the neighbourhood restaurant that has it all.
For more information and booking, visit: www.livrestaurant.co.uk
Chérie City was a guest of LIV Belgravia
Food images by Chérie City and interiors by LIV Belgravia
