Review: Amari

I’d been keeping track of Amari since I first heard Halisco and Anakuma were getting a little sister on Baker Street. When ‘we’re open!’ showed up on my Instagram feed, it took me probably less than 30 seconds to get booked in. I waited a couple more weeks and there it was, the menu. Now, I’m not huge on Spanish food, and that’s not to say I dislike it, I just rarely have it. But as expected Amari, you wowed me. My visits to Halisco and Anakuma were both nothing short of fantastic, from food to service to atmosphere, and this time was no different. Just like last time, I’ll go step by step.

First off, exceptional job on the lighting. Very first thing I noticed and continued to notice throughout. It might seem obvious, but having well-lit tables is a smart move, every photo perfect, very easy on the eyes. Hearing that, you’re probably thinking the entire room was brightly lit but it was quite the contrary- somehow, they managed to keep an ambient light in such a small space without the table spotlights interfering. Nice work.

Next up, olives, always olives. Two kinds here I believe. One darker and pretty standard but the other was unlike any olive I’ve had before. If you think I’m being dramatic, I’m not. I don’t know what they did or where they got these, but I savoured those lighter olives for as long as I could because something about them was just incredible, almost like they’d been in with pickled jalapeños. If finding out what happened to those olives is the last thing I ever do, I’ll be happy. Again, not being dramatic.

Enough about olives, they were just my ‘browsing the menu’ snack. Plus a glass of white, how could I not. Anything with mushrooms, you can count me in. So out came my first pick: cep croquettas on a beautiful plate brought out by one of the chefs (perks of eating early!) That mushroom flavour hit me right in the face and when I tell you that was intense, I really mean it. There was a truffle sauce with them that balanced out the salt, kept everything light and creamy. Not a hint of oiliness to be found, these were perfect.

The only thing I knew I was having for sure were the prawns in garlic butter and bisque sauce, because I’m always ready to get stuck into some shell-on prawns. The fragrance was the first thing I got here, rich, garlicky, a little sweet. Unfortunately, I’m not too well-practiced in tackling shell-on prawns with a knife and fork, but to my utter delight, the server dropped off a finger bowl. Huge relief, not to mention huge excitement. He said, ‘so you can get properly stuck in,’ and I absolutely did. Not easy to do gracefully but I was put on this earth to enjoy myself. The prawns themselves were huge, meaty and such fun to eat. I was very close to ordering some bread to mop up the rest of that gorgeous bisque but I’m so glad I held back, because the next two dishes were worth leaving room for.

I’m not a huge pork lover but I kept seeing photos of the suckling pig and the description I was given at the table sold me. ‘Suckling pig with black pudding purée and truffle sauce’ sounds decadent as is, but what I was presented with was much more than I expected. The orange and deep reds looked wonderful in that light, not to mention how silky the truffle sauce looked against a black plate. Three parts of the pig here, crispy belly, breaded ears, and what I’d love to say was a loin, but I can’t remember for sure. Apologies. The belly was a beautiful colour but the fat was still a tad tough, even though the meat completely fell apart with every bite. Same with the mystery cut, tender and soft. But the ear is what really took me by surprise. Having never eaten an ear, I was kind of taken aback but of course, it was delicious. All of this with the black pudding purée was just the right amount of rich and smooth, enough to warrant a lengthy break before getting to the last dish.

Artichokes have always intrigued me, and fried artichokes with lemon oil sounded like a fun snack to end the evening with. Big portion, understandable because tapas are meant to be shared. The texture was similar to that of a boiled potato- these were essentially wedges. I didn’t get a huge amount of artichoke flavour or texture but when fried that’s to be expected, isn’t it. Oil as a dip for fried food has never occurred to me and if I’m being totally honest, I’m not sure it was the way to go, something light and fresh may have been a better move. There was freshness in the hints of lemon, but they didn’t come out too often. I polished these off with a Halisco margarita, nice and slow so I didn’t pass out from the incoming food coma. I’d have loved to see more variation on the cocktail list but hey, it’s only been a month. I’m sure there are many exciting things to come from Amari. I’ve been telling everyone I know to pay them a visit and now I’m telling you, it’s definitely worth the trip.