Ride the wave. Risotto is coming to town
all’onda is an Italian phrase meaning ‘on the wave’, and refers to the risotto-making technique which sees rice gently tossed in the pan to create a smooth, flowing texture reminiscent of waves. The new restaurant will draw on its namesake to showcase a series of refined risottos, using the classic Italian dish as a springboard to explore seasonal flavours and textures.
all’onda stems from founder Cordula Schulz’s passion for risotto, which she’s been serving in various forms to friends and family for many years. Head Chef Andrea Granzarolo will lead the kitchen having spentsix years with Hélène Darroze, as well as The Greenhouse and The Square. General Manager Marco Montalbano joins from Muse by Tom Aikens and will oversee the front of house.
Raised in Lombardy, Italy, Granzarolo will combine his technical knowledge of the traditional risotto with a contemporary twist at all’onda, in order to showcase the finest seasonal ingredients from the British larder.
Together with Schulz he has developed a menu that features a number of variations on the classic risotto, drawing on both customary flavour combinations in a spring green risotto primavera, squid ink risotto, or risotto alla Milanese as well as more playful pairings such as pumpkin and shiso; seaweed, bottarga and white asparagus and sweetbread and artichoke.
A selection of bright starters such as red bream crudo with fennel, radish, citrus and yuzu kosho and beef tartaccio (a tartare-carpaccio crossover) with smoked soy, parmesan and parsley will pave the way for the centrepiece risotti, which will sit alongside three regularly-changing main courses, including duck with carrot, tamarind and plum and Cornish turbot with verbena, matcha and green asparagus. House made tarts such as apricot, rosemary and honey tarte, seasonal sorbets and a selection of artisan cheeses will round off the meal.
all’onda will open at 67 Charlotte Street on 2nd May. The restaurant will be open Tuesday to Saturday for lunch from 12pm to 3pm, and dinner from 5.30pm to 11pm.