So, when I discovered new restaurant Cent Anni (Italian for 100 years) had taken over that site, my heart hurt just a little. Immediately Maureen, their lovely PR assuaged my fears, divulging that the old and new venues shared the same owner - Raymond de Fazio. I hoped to love Cent Anni as much as I adored its predecessor.
After a quarter of a century serving chargrilled proteins, hearty salads and their trademark bowls of crisp golden frites to rosé quaffing locals, it was overdue a glow up.
Arriving on a February weekend lunchtime. I was immediately enchanted. The refurb has given the tired premises a facelift any aesthetician would be proud of – fresher, more sophisticated, all signs of ageing erased.
The room now bears a grown-up, muted colour palette. A fire glowed in the corner of the room.
Equally warm was the welcome from manageress Yvonne, who fizzed with excitement making us feel instantly welcome, even showing (Oscar-winning) interest in our (dull) reminiscences of our history here.
Sipping my Hugo, a prosecco and elderflower cocktail, while Mr P made do with (a surprisingly good) non-alcoholic Riesling we browsed the (non-kosher) menu.
It has an Italian slant with a large section of pastas and risottos, grilled fish and plenty of their trademark huge salads.
As we sat down early (at 12:15), we initially had the dining room to ourselves and our food arrived fast. Zucchini fritti were crisp batons of actual courgette - unlike some outlets which offer you shards of batter-coated peel or even very-less crisps.
[Missing Credit]
Salmon tartare was zingy, with tiny capers and gherkins, giving it an almost heimish vibe. It felt fresh, healthy, and disappeared in minutes.
Arancini cacio e pepe were three crunchy-coated balls of actual creamy risotto sitting on tiny mounds of garlic mayonnaise. I'm not sure I got much pepper flavour but no complaints.
Tasty trio: cacio e pepe arancini Photo: Victoria Prever[Missing Credit]
We could have stopped there so high was the feel-good factor induced by expertly executed deep fried food plus alcohol.
Grilled salmon was perfectly done - pink and shiny inside and those trademark Cafe-Med char lines on the outside. Sunset-hued blood orange sauce a zingy match with just the right amount of acidity. Served with lightly charred tender stem broccoli made me feel super saintly.
Get your grill on: salmon with blood orange sauce Photo: Victoria Prever[Missing Credit]
Mr P's sea bass was also perfectly cooked, with a soft tender interior and lightly charred crust. His side of garlicky spinach was well-seasoned and worthy, but it was the arrival of the large wooden bowl of crisp, golden fries that spiked our dopamine.
These chips have also been pivotal in our relationship and always fought over. After a race to the bottom of the bowl — no crunchy crumb left behind — it was time to decide on dessert.
Coffees arrived with tiny almond cantuccini biscuits, which would have satisfied any sweet tooth craving. But we were on a mission to discover what Cent Anni was capable of, so picked the warm apple crumble topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream — a thick layer of crunchy nuggets on pleasingly cinnamon-scented apple.
Humble crumble: apple cinnamon pudding perfection Photo: Victoria Prever[Missing Credit]
It was the tiramisu that stole the show. Creamy and light and suitably chocolatey. Had Mr P let me anywhere near it, I would have polished that off too.
By the time we got up from the table, the room was buzzing with chatting families and couples.
Cent Anni is a return to glory for this corner of NW8 and is bound to bring the masses back to the terraces.
Cent Anni Loudon Road, London NW8
