Scran Spot Review #5 - Osteria Mbare, Clapham High Street

CUISINE

The food at this busy Clapham spot is described by Osteria Mbare as aiming to ‘blend the tradition of Italian cuisine, aperitivi culture and the best of British seasonal produce together in a seamless way’. The atmosphere is central to the Italian restaurant’s attraction, with a small menu ensuring they execute dishes to the highest standard. You can visit Mbare to tuck into a lunch or dinner between Wednesday-Sunday and they also provide a ‘Bottomless Carbs & Bubbles’ option for £40 per person, where you will receive 90 minutes of unlimited prosecco and chef’s daily special pasta dishes.

MY SCRAN CHOICE

We visited Mbare for a last-minute Saturday night booking and decided to share three starters as well as a main course each.

STARTERS

‘BRUSCHETTA’

British Cherry Tomatoes, Burrata Sauce, Basil Ice-Cream on Local Sourdough Bread

To kick off proceedings, we tried out Mbare’s bruschetta. It was cooked to crispy perfection, with just the right amounts of tomato and burrata on top. The basil ice-cream was a creative twist to the Italian classic dish, and was very enjoyable.

‘CHEESE POPS’

Fried Smoked Cheese in Soft Herbs Breadcrumbs, Truffle Mayo

My guilty pleasure is any dish centring on fried cheese, and this one did not disappoint. Quite often, the issue with breadcrumbed cheese is the heat of the cheese and the way in which it melts when served, but Mbare made sure they did not neglect this. It was soft, and not overly stringy whilst the truffle mayo made for a wonderful dipping condiment.

‘CALAMARI’

Crispy Calamari with Chives & Squid Ink Mayo

This was my POTM. Rarely do you find a restaurant which makes sure the calamari is as crispy as possible but also still provides sufficient amounts of squid in the centre. The squid ink mayo was my favourite element of the overall meal, and was a nice surprise away from the usual garlic aioli or tartare sauce on offer as condiments to calamari dishes. Well-flavoured, excellently cooked: spot-on calamari.

MAIN COURSE

‘CACIO E PEPE’

Spaghettoni with Black Pepper, Parmesan & Pecorino Sauce

Again, another Italian dish that is sometimes difficult to execute, partly due to its simplicity. The pasta was fresh and the cacio e pepe sauce classically delicious.

REFRESHMENTS

We shared a bottle of an Italian Red Wine, which was excellent.

THE FEE

It was very reasonably priced here, with Italian food as good, if not better, than a lot of highly-rated restaurants in Central London.

THE REVIEW

I would highly recommend Mbare as an underrated spot to discover in the lesser reputed area for food, Clapham. The atmosphere really is first-rate on a Saturday night, as there is a young, lively crowd scattered around spacious seating. The food was also very nice, with Mbare’s small menu still attractive due to the creative ingredients on show as part of classic Italian dishes. I would certainly suggest sharing some small plates as there are some great options available and definitely reserve a table earlier on in the week if you wish to be catered for on a busy weekend night. We were fortunate to get a last-minute table, but the staff accentuated the difficulties in getting a reservation without some preparation!

Room for Improvement?

For what it is, a modest Italian on Clapham High Street, is is hard to fault the restaurant, particularly due to the commodious spot it holds. However, the main course offerings could be slightly larger, as there are only five pasta dishes on display, but of course, this would depend on Mbare’s capabilities.