Of course there are plenty more in the sea but when you get this quality of fish you don’t want to throw it back. A Mayfair staple for many years, going into Pescatori is like stepping into a Tuscan villa. White floor tiles, wrought iron chandeliers, harlequin chequered chairs and baronial fireplaces give it the air of grand old Italy.
Diving straight in, Pescatori’s spaghettini all’aragosta is one of the best pasta dishes in London – and if you are going Italian it always seems a shame to miss out an early pasta course. Dorset Blue lobster atop a mound of thin spaghetti bathed with the ripest, juiciest San Marzano tomatoes, white wine, garlic and tongue-tingling sprinkle of chilli. We had the starter portion but it’s worth pushing the boat out for the main at £22.50.
You can try the lobster spaghettini dish on Lobster Fridays for only £15.95 or with a glass of Prosecco at £19.50. There is also a surf ‘n’ turf mid week treat from £17.75 with ribs in Italian honey and a grilled, marinated half lobster tail.
If you are ordering a la carte you’ll be washed away by this scallop and cockles dish – with a wet foam from which Venus herself could have risen. Capesante of Isle of Man queenie scallops, cockles, wild garlic & parsley liquor for £11.95. Cooked perfectly with a broth you will want to drink every last drop of.
For a show stopper this takes some topping – salt baked sea bass which, as it was still cooking, changed from blush pink to creamy white flesh as it was expertly unveiled before our eyes. Moist with a tingle of baked lemon and a bunch of samphire. Simplicity and delightfulness itself.
Simple but tasty fish washed down by Vernaccia di San Gimignano which stands out among the top wines of Tuscany, being the region’s only white wine to have reached the lofty heights of DOCG status. It’s golden-hued color, full-body and floral with bitter aftertaste reflects the sandstone soils where the grapes are grown.

Tuscany’s Vernaccia di San Gimignano £36.00 – herbal notes followed by a rich & creamy complexity on the palate
Italian food seems to bring out the best stories in dinner guests and even the excellent waiters – tales of truffle hunting in Turin, how the stockbrokers created the drink Punt e Mes, and a heart warming tale of the poor mother going door-to-door begging for the five fish stew cacciucco, and us quizzing the staff the about the names of the fish for each letter c in the dish’s name. Not having a grolla friendship cup to hand we raised our glass of Averna in bitter sweetness that such a great meal is over.

Averna Sicilian liqueur – macerated herbs, roots and citrus rinds soak in the base liquor before caramel is added.
Pescatori Mayfair
11 Dover Street, London W1S 4LH
T: 020 7493 2652
ds@pescatori.co.uk
and a sister restaurant
Pescatori Charlotte Street
57 Charlotte Street, London W1T 4PD
T: 020 7580 3289
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