Amano may not be a well-known hotel brand in the UK but it’s long established in Germany. Specialising in super-central locations, the first opened in Berlin in 2009 and soon spread to Munich, Leipzig and Dusseldorf. The most recent opening is in Covent Garden and, like its stable mates, it has cool styling with lots of dark shades, marble, velvet and understated golden accents – which might sound a bit glitzy but the result is actually rather elegant.
One of the core Amano offerings is its bar and this is certainly the case in Covent Garden where it’s up on the top (seventh) floor and extends out on to the roof with views of the London Eye, the Shard and Big Ben. There’s a long bar with its bottles set out on glass shelves against the London skyline, a midnight blue and subdued gold colour scheme and a pretty unusual cocktail menu. I’d recommend Summer Thyme (gin, raspberry, thyme agave, lemon juice and thyme foam) and Tiki Tango (Diplomatico Mantuano, orange bitters, angostura bitters, absinthe, lime and pineapple juice) but they also have Cava Brut Nature which is, at least by my reckoning, the best sparkling wine as it has no added sugar and a crisp, fruity taste. There’s a good tapas menu in the bar, too, as well as music with live performances and DJs.
The restaurant itself is back down on the ground floor and reading the menu was a pleasure in itself, combining lots of different Mediterranean influences brought together by two chefs, one Spanish, the other Turkish. It turned out to deliver on its promises, one of the best fusion menus I’ve come across. The problem, though, was what to choose. Advised by the attentive Raj, we decided not just to share starters but also the main course.
After much soul searching, we went for the Coca Bread (not what you think, it’s a Mediterranean sourdough) with salsa verde and lebneh and then chose one more each. It wasn’t easy to turn down the seabream tartare or the grilled monkfish with brown crab but we decided finally on the tuna ceviche (with mango, ajo blanco, seaweed and jalapeno) and the roasted aubergine (with pomegranate pico de Gallo, date glaze, tahini and soy). Not only were both dishes delicious, they were the epitome of healthy Mediterranean food – light, fresh, savoury and just a little bit fruity.
The main course we chose was the turbot with just a tomato salad on the side. Even so, we were daunted by the quantity. Aficionados of Lindsey Davis’s ancient Roman detective, Falco, might recall the story where he is given a turbot that is so big he has to cook it in a laundry tub. I think our turbot might have faced the same problem. It was, so beautifully delicate and flavoursome, however, and covered with tiny brown shrimps and mushrooms, we just had to do our best. (Even better, we had some to take home.)
Raj returned to persuade us to try the house speciality cheesecake. Not being a great lover of cheesecake any time (let alone when I’ve been tackling a turbot) I demurred but when it arrived I decided I might just try a forkful (or two). It turned out this wasn’t like any cheesecake I’ve encountered previously – all baklava filo pastry and scattered with pomegranate, it was light as air and a perfect finale. I’ll definitely be back – but with at least three other people to tackle that turbot with me.
Penelope’s, Amano, 34-43 Russell St WC2B 5SN. For more information, and for bookings, please visit www.amanogroup.com.
