Theo Randall at Intercontinental Park Lane

Located inside the Intercontinental Park Lane, Theo Randall isn’t exactly a restaurant you’d stumble across. Once you’ve moved beyond the entrance of the restaurant, which might seem a bit imposing at first, you’ll find that the wide open space and light-coloured interiors lends itself to a more relaxed atmosphere.

It’s not quite the open-air dining space filled with sunshine, but Theo Randall lends itself rather well to it’s location, where rustic Italian fare focusing on local produce together with seasonally imported Italian ingredients is the key focus. This means that whilst there’s a great range of dishes to suit almost every palate, simpler pasta dishes shouldn’t be overlooked – in fact, these were the real standouts.

Following some fantastic starters at a lunch tasting last month (the photos really speak for themselves), I had the opportunity to try a couple of mains from the new menu. The Roasted Sea Bream was cooked perfectly and accompanied by delicious datterini tomatoes – both the Risotto di peperoni rossi and Linguine con melanzane were clear favourites. For the risotto, the symphony of roasted red peppers, together with basil, butter and parmesan, created the perfect balance of sweetness and umami.

And for the desserts – I enjoyed every single one of them. The chocolate cake was delicious, moist and not too dense, but if you’re after something lighter, the rhubarb panna cotta and citrus tarts would be the best choice. Definitely worth leaving room for a dessert or two!