"I seem to be eating out in Italian restaurants more than any other these days. Whether it's just my cravings drawn towards this hearty cuisine, or simply because there are so many Italian restaurants in London right now I'm not entirely sure. Either way, there is never such thing as too much Italian food. On a bitter cold mid Wednesday I managed to find myself in the Liverpool Street area at La Tagliata the areas newest Italian opening. Serving only three dishes (almost), in three courses I had big exceptions. With a focus on very few things (much like Le Relais de Venise do so well) things needed to be perfect otherwise what reason would you have to come back over the extensive Italian offerings that may be locally? One thing I will say about La Tagliata is that the staff here all seem very passionate about what they do and that passion certainly rubbed off during our dinner. The wine list here is fabulous and filled with some gorgeous Italian gems from producers which you probably haven't heard of, but certainly worth seeking out. From the incredibly short, refined food menu we dived straight in with the pasta. All the pasta is home made and fresh, but oddly something just wasn't quite right. The pasta was all stuck together much more than it should have, creating small tower like chunks, instead of light separated strands. The pomodoro sauce on the other hand was gorgeous. A real depth of flavour and not an ounce of tartness left in the sauce they must have been cooking this for hours to get such a concentration and balance. Another pasta dish this time lacked heat and the slightly stodgy, clumped together strands of pasta still continued. For a restaurant which has a very limited menu this should have been near perfect. It was the first time I've eaten something quite like this creamy limone sauce before and now I've fallen in love with it. Since delving into to the delightfully rich, yet zesty sauce I seem to be seeing it on just about every Italian restaurant menu I look at. Perhaps my carnivorous eye has simply been overlooking it all this time. Despite such a delicious sauce it still couldn't mask some of the school boy errors we were coming across in these pasta dishes. If you hadn't already guessed it, La Tagliata is named after its signature dish they serve here. Chunky slices of British sirloin steak, served on a bed of rocket, parmesan, cherry tomatoes and balsamic reduction. There's a good reason why this dish is their signature offering, and that's because they've managed to perfect this simple Italian fare and turn it into a showcase of flavours and ingredients. The steak was a lovely piece of meat, with a nice crust and cooked perfectly in the centre. The rocket could have perhaps been a little more peppery but its subtlety was actually rather attractive. With the Tagliata you can chose between the option of either roast potatoes, or the stunning family recipe of shepherds potatoes. A magnificent bowl of creamy mash which has a meaty stock mixed into it. Perhaps La Tagliata will let me in on this family recipe? The main problem for me about La Tagliata is that it feels too much of a lunch venue, in the evening. It's just not indulgent or decadent enough. I never thought to see a baked scarmoza on the menu for a main, but here it was. Mature mozzarella, porcini mushrooms, sun dried tomato and truffle paste. It certainly wasn't a bad dish, but this version felt so much like something you'd expect to be eating as a quick snack at lunch. Scarmoza should arrive hot, preferably in a cast iron pot and so soft and gooey on the inside that it's almost impossible to eat. La Tagliata played this dish much too safe. The side of roast potatoes were good but had nothing on the shepherds potatoes we had with that juicy steak. Before delving into our tiramisu we also managed a cheese course of three Italian cheeses. All of which had nearly the same texture and were surprisingly lacking in flavour even the stinky blue. The tiramisu in some bites was very good, but in others it was on the watery side and oddly seemed to be sinking in the cup, on to itself. It satisfied the sweet tooth urge but sadly we struggled to get overly excited about it. The food here at La Tagliata was a very simple Italian affair. At £29 for three courses it doesn't even have a competitive edge, which for price conscious Londoners may seem a bit of a downer. For lunch I could perhaps see the point of La Tagliata but otherwise I don't see what this restaurant can offer (apart from a lack of choice) than most other Italian restaurants in London."
