Bringing a taste of Sicily to Charlotte Street, Mennula offers a modern take on traditional Italian food.

The Venue
A small, narrow venue on Charlotte Street, Mennula faces stiff competition from the multitude of restaurants that line the road. The pretty white frontage, topped with purple lettering, makes it stand out and once inside the purple and white colour scheme continues. There are only a few tables; whilst some seem to need negotiating to get in and out, the high-backed purple booths are comfortable. Budding purple tree boughs are stencilled on the walls, keeping the design simple, modern and trendy. It’s a far cry from the decor of typical Italian restaurants you often find in Central London – no garlic bulbs? no olive oil? – but it’s all the better for it.

The Atmosphere
Despite the modern interior Mennula feels warm and welcoming, with enthusiastic waiters that are well versed on the menu – if you choose a signature Sicilian dish they seem so pleased it’s almost as if they’re cooking it themselves. The crowd seems mainly to be made up of couples and small groups of friends, although that might be due to the venue’s small size – it would be hard for groups of more than four to sit comfortably.

The Food
The menu at Mennula is modern Italian, with Sicilian influences making themselves known courtesy of a few Mediterranean touches. Prices aren’t unreasonable for the area and there’s enough variety that the meal doesn’t have to be expensive – also, for an extra £4, any of the antipasti or pasta dishes can be ordered as a main. A set lunch and pre-theatre menu costs £17.50 for two courses and £19.50 for three.

Beef carpaccio (£10.50), a classic dish, is slightly unusual as it’s cut thicker than you may expect. It’s paired nicely with shavings of Parmesan, lemon dressing and a few tart capers; their sharp, salty taste is a good match for the beef. Squid served with potato sauce, roasted peppers and olive pate (£8.50) is fresh, with a good texture and colourful presentation. The potato sauce is subtly flavoured but adds a luxurious creaminess to the dish.

Potato gnocci (£8.50 as a starter, £12.50 as a main) seems like a simple dish but the flavours really come through well. The gnocci is soft and the nutty pesto sauce – made with almonds, which is what Mennula means in Sicilian – has a delicate but rich taste, brightened up by cherry tomatoes, roasted so that they’re almost falling apart into the sauce. Pork belly with black cabbage and apple chutney (£17.50) is a decent portion and the meat is good quality but ever so slightly dry – a dab or two of the apple chutney is more than enough to sort it out, though.

The dessert menu is almost as long as the first two courses, with plenty of delicious looking cheese options paired with interesting accompaniments like fennel-scented honey, baked pears and toasted walnuts. A mixed cheese platter is £13. If you go for the sweet stuff, though, about seven options are available from £6.50 to £7. The traditional Sicilian cannoli, a crisp pastry tube filled with ewe’s ricotta, is brilliant. The filling is so sweet that you could almost fool yourself into thinking that you’re eating frosting if not for the slight tang of cheese behind the sugar. Baba with limoncello is pretty big and might be hard to finish if you’ve had a starter and main as well. Almost like a hot pound cake, it’s moist and dense, although they’ve really gone to town with the limoncello – best to keep the dessert wine to the minimum if you order this.

The Drink
An all Italian wine list sees Sicilian wine taking centre stage, with more than half a dozen wines from the region mixed in amongst Italian classics. Plenty are available by the glass (from £3.35) and carafe (from £6.70) and bottles start at a reasonable £13.40. Fine wines (£120 to £380) and fine Champagnes (£119.50 to £170) are available if you’re looking to impress, but otherwise bottles top out at £92 for a Barolo from Piedmont. For whites, the Itynera Grillo from Siciliy (£4.20, £8.40, £16.80) is a sweet, aromatic Sauvignon whilst the Sicilian Sangiovese Syrah (£3.85, £7.70, £15.40) is full bodied, with spicy flavours.

A decent selection of sweet wine, port and grappa completes the list along with several types of spirits. Coffees and teas, with petits fours featuring bits of cannoli, are also available.

The Last Word
A blend of traditional and innovative, Mennula’s friendly atmosphere makes it ideal for a quiet dinner with friends. If you think you’ve seen all there is from Italian cuisine, this restaurant may surprise you.

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