Riverside Italian At Bella Cosa
Whenever visitors to London ask me what they should do, I tell them at some point they must include a trip on the DLR (Docklands Light Railway). I usually recommend going to Greenwich, but heading through Canary Wharf is essential. Not only do you get to feel like a train driver because you can sit right at the front (just me?) but it's like going on a Bladerunner-esque journey across land and water where you're surrounded by tall, stunning buildings. Granted, the novelty would soon wear off if this was your daily work commute, but when you do it occasionally it's the best fun ever. This is one of the main reasons I had no problem travelling out to Docklands to visit Italian restaurant Bella Cosa, and it's less than fifteen minutes on a direct route from Bank to South Quay, so it's not like you're leaving London and needing to change trains five times. It's all too easy to stick to central London for food, but when there's Italian this good slightly further afield, it pays to make the (ridiculously short and fun) journey. Bella Cosa just opened in October and is an absolute gem. Although the food is Italian, it has a unique Asian twist; the head chef is Japanese, and there are some amazing combinations of flavour and aroma.
Bella Cosa has a beautiful riverside view, which we made good use of by coming for lunch and getting to see it in the sun, though we are informed the river is gorgeous lit up at night too. You can enjoy a pre or post-dinner cocktail in this elegant lounge (above) right next to the river, and as well as two main dining rooms there are some really great small spaces for private use. The biggest one is this room (below) that handily also houses a collection of fine wine. The china has all been specially made in Italy, as has the adorable glass ornaments on the tables.
Form start to finish the service was unbelievable, everyone no matter who they are is treated like royalty. We were given welcome prosecco (which is always, always welcome) and some delicious canapés of cheese and potato goodness. Let's take a look at some of the food. Bella Cosa gave us a tasting selection of some of their favourite dishes from the A La Carte menu. As a vegetarian I was looked after with a delicious dish of melted cheese and roasted winter vegetables. It was so good! When is melted cheese not a winner? My meat-lovin' guest had pork belly, which I'm assured was absolutely divine. We each had a dish of cheese ravioli with truffles (top picture) which was my favourite dish of the day, I could eat that right now, it was SO good.
I had a bit of a cheese themed meal (no complaints from me!) as another dish was delicate Italian soft cheese with a variety of tomatoes and dried olives. I can appreciate the beauty and expertise of this non-vegetarian dish (fish and seafood sashimi, below) but I could never eat that, I can barely look at it on my blog, lol. It contains twelve different items, including octopus, all totally raw. Meaty guest loved it and raved about it for days, so if this is your kind of thing, you should order it here - best sashimi ever, apparently. The Asian influence on the dishes was sometimes really obvious, as with the sashimi, but if you look at the cheese ravioli you can see they look quite like gyoza.
Between savoury courses we were given this adorable potato foam to cleanse the palate. It was such a nice, light savoury mousse in the cutest little dish. The palate cleanser before the dessert was a Pina Colada dish (not drink) which was so much fun; fresh pineapple with dried coconut and pineapple mousse.
The dessert was really delicious, a chocolate mousse with Italian style cake, very light like Panettone. The end of a wonderful meal was completed with green tea, coffee and petit fours that continued the Asian-Italian theme (with a hint of French); cubes of green tea and chocolate ganache, coffee macarons, and chocolate sandwich Italian cookies.
I cannot recommend Bella Cosa enough. The Docklands might seem off the beaten track, but it's well worth a visit for a romantic evening meal, or for hiring out one of the rooms and having a tasting menu with a group of friends. They have a beer tasting menu, with exclusive beers and ales complimenting each dish, this sounds ideal for a birthday or maybe a stag do. You could do what we did and have a weekend lunch there, and then cross over the bridge to Canary Wharf for some Christmas shopping and a movie at the West India Quay Cineworld. There's something about this area that really reminds me of being in New York, I think it's the skyscrapers, the fancy fountains, and the wide roads, but it's also one of the most Christmassy places in London; the lights are gorgeous and it's so nice and quiet at weekends. The food and service are so special at Bella Cosa that I wouldn't say go there if you're in the area, I'd really recommend making a special trip to Bella Cosa, this is definitely one of London's best Italians.
Bella Cosa kindly invited us as guests.