tempo
Earlier this month new Italian restaurant Tempo, helmed by Japanese chef Yoshi Yamada (who trained in Michelin-starred restaurants in Sorrento, Sardinia and Florence), popped up along Curzon Street in swish Mayfair. Lured by the varied menu which includes a selection of cicchetti, antipasti, pasta, meat and fish, B and I headed over for supper last week and were surprised to stumble into an almost empty restaurant on a Friday evening. A sweet Spanish waitress greeted us eagerly at the door, led us to a window table and promptly brought over the menus and a bowl of grissini, focaccia and crispbread.
We ordered ourselves some vino and a couple of small plates to start. A portion of Frito di Calamari and Bianchetti (deep-fried squid and whitebait) was light and greaseless, but the squid had been overcooked so was a little dry and leathery. The whitebait was good, but not extraordinary.
The Insalata di Polpo fared better – the single seared octopus tentacle was meaty and nicely set off by the colourful salad of tart granny smiths, refreshing parsley and sharp pomegranate jewels. It was a tiny serving but then, it did only cost £2.75.
A larger plate of Venison Carpaccio and Pickled Summer Vegetables followed, and it was absolutely delicious. The meat fresh and meltingly-soft, complemented beautifully by the sprightly vinegar doused vegetables and peppery rocket.
Our antipasti pick of Marinated Artichoke Salad with Burrata Pugliese was equally delightful – luscious creamy burrata cheese and salad leaves simply dressed in olive oil, with tender artichokes and a smooth jerusalem artichoke purée.
Pasta is always a good yardstick to judge an Italian restaurant against, so we ordered two. The first was a Wild Rabbit, Pistachio and Sage Tortelli which although a great marriage of flavours, was unfortunately let down by the poorly-made stiff and unyielding pasta.
I was also disappointed by the Cornish Crab Tagliolini with Dill and Lime which was so overloaded with the aromatic herb that the sweet delicate crab meat was completely masked by it.
Our choice of main course, a Baby Chicken with Barley and Wild Rocket was nicely-charred but had clearly been left sitting on the robata grill too long, sucking all the moisture out of what would otherwise have been a juicy bird.
Having bypassed dessert at lunch, I was ready for a satisfying sweet ending to our evening. Sadly the Summer Berry Tart with Raspberry Sorbet (which came highly recommended by our bubbly waitress) was pretty ordinary – the fruit and crème pâtissière were fine but the tart case was thick and stodgy, not unlike the ones available at your local supermarket.
The Peach and Elderberry Jelly and Mascarpone Cream was again pleasant enough, but nothing special. Despite the uninspiring puds quite a few of the savoury courses showed real promise, with a handful of stunners (namely the venison and burrata). Prices are also palatable considering the Mayfair location, but beware as it does rack up when you order dish after dish. Worth a peek if you’re in the area, just stay away from the pasta.
Tempo
54 Curzon Street
London, W1J 8PG
t. 020 7629 2742
gourmet traveller 
Doesn’t sound like it’s worth visiting really; if they can’t get the pasta right in an Italian restaurant, then I don’t hold much confidence in them…
Hey GT! Sad that they dropped the ball with the pasta, however the venison carpaccion and octopus tentacle both look AMAZING!!!! Great pictures as well, they add to the “I’m really hungry now” feeling!!
It is always worrying when an Italian joint doesn’t get the pasta right, and while the dishes all look stunning (great pics!) it does sound like it was done at the expense of the flavour. That said, the octopus tentacle looks and sounds great.
Lovely pictures
What a shame…they make it look fancy enough, but it would probably just do best in your beautiful photos and not as your dinner:(
Hello GT, my verdict on Tempo pretty much accords with yours, solid option and worth a try if you’re in the area but not somewhere to go out of your way for. In truth I expected more probably because of the Japanese connection but then again I had just returned from a few days in Italy so maybe am judging more harshly than normal. I had the octopus, venison carpaccio, gnocchi and lemon tart. Nothing particularly stood out, I liked the cut and tenderness of the venison and also the pickled vegetables but felt that the meat lacked flavour. The gnocchi was not bad, quite light and pillowy, but the accompanying tomato sauce was average and lacked any of the advertised chilli. The lemon tart was pretty good but I didn’t care for the layer of caramelised sugar on top. Not in the same league as Semplice which I know you are a fan of. I would also recommend Tenore near Angel tube station for Sardinian specialities as well as Zucca where I had a very promising and reasonably priced lunch a few weeks ago.
that venison looked really good, and on paper those pastas sound amazing, but too bad they werent executed well, they have alot of promise
I work around the corner from Tempo and was delighted when it opened. I have already eaten there three times! I am surprised by some of the comments as I had dinner there last night and had the rabbit tortelli which was delicious – the filling was divine and the pasta cooked perfectly. I also like the cicchetti section and had the bruschetta with tuna – very tasty! My friend had the Insalata di Polpo which was refreshing and unusual. We shared the pork sausage which was also good. My friend had the lemon tart which she said was one of the best she’d had – I couldn’t eat another bite. It wasn’t very busy when we first arrived at 6:15 straight from the office but before we left it was buzzy and the atmosphere was convivial and fun. I’d recommend Tempo to anyone.
I’m glad to hear that perhaps my experience with the pasta was a one off as I did enjoy the cicchetti. Will remember to give it another go next time I’m searching for eats in Mayfair.