TOZI we’re told translates as ‘hanging out with friends’ – and this chilled Italian restaurant and bar in London’s Victoria (within the Park Plaza Hotel) specialising in Venetian cicchetti (small plates) and classic Italian cocktails certainly lives up to its name.
All the dishes at TOZI are inspired by the casual dining ethos of the Veneto region, putting emphasis on quality and seasonal ingredients that are all sourced from Italian producers.
With so much choice it’s pretty tough to decide what to have from the appetizing menu presented, even harder when you have to pick 2-3 dishes each. Throwing caution to the wind we chose a selection including fresh from the oven delicious bruschetta with courgette, fresh caprino and taggiasca an equally tasty spianata with aubergine, smoked pancetta and ricotta – that was a really good pizza equivalent. We also ordered a delightfully creamy burrata with heritage tomatoes, basil and a buffalo ricotta ravioli and black truffle (rich and indulgent). In addition to these small delicious plates we ordered a chargilled wild sea bass with salsa verde which was extremely fresh and tasty and a baby chicken with roasted potatoes and chilli – the perfect English roast alternative.
Full to the seams it was hard contemplating dessert, however Davide (Asst Bar Manager) was very persuasive and recommended the merningata, yoghurt, amarene – we are so glad we tried this 90s popular Italian summery dessert with meringue syrup, yogurt and black cherries, Davide told us it’s a retro Italian favourite and we can totally see why, loved every bite!
The bar offers Prosecco on tap which is basically liquid heaven for us and music to our ears, but as we were feeling experimental we let our waiter surprise us with TOZI’s Lambrusco which is new to the menu (£41 a bottle). Before you wince in horror, you’ll be glad to hear that it’s far from the sweet sickly drink you may be familiar with from decades past – the sparkling rose drink is surprisingly good and we imagine will go a treat in the summer – a good ‘rose on ice’ equivalent, perfect for sunshine drinking!
We absolutely love the richness and comfort of Italian food, and the casual dining style means you can take your time savouring authentic flavours – Tozi is definitely a worth visit for the 90s inspired meringue dessert alone.
TOZI is open daily from 12:00 to 22:30 Monday to Friday and from 12:30 – 22:30 on Saturday and Sunday.
To make a reservation or call 020 7769 9771.
