Weaving a spell
Innecto - Latin for "weave" - has acquired a fair reputation in only a few weeks. Amanda Marcus went to learn why.
Innecto has only been open for a few weeks but it's already building a reputation for being "a casual, funky place", in the words of head chef Eric Vernice.
Situated in Marylebone, central London, the 110-seat restaurant sits above its own cocktail bar, with both venues beginning to attract "trendy thirtysomethings" in the evenings and business clients at lunchtime.
The tone of the menu is modern Italian, but French-born Vernice says he doesn't like to put "stickers" on his food. With previous employers including the Maritime in Manhattan, the Bear Foot Bistro at Whistler, British Columbia, in the Canadian Rockies, and the two-Michelin-starred La Bonne Etape in France, Vernice's background is influenced by both North American and European cuisine, but his main interest, he says, is in "earthy" food.
Blend of ingredients
"I like to keep my dishes quite light," he says, "to respect the blend of different ingredients and to play with earth and sea combinations - mixing scallops with mushrooms, for example, and cooking fish in meat juices."
Vernice heads a 14-strong brigade with six or seven staff in each service. Manager Eric Bernard moved with him from the Maritime and the Bear Foot Bistro to help create an emphasis on good food, friendly, efficient service and value for money. Pizza and pasta are on the seasonally changing menu as well as more expensive dishes, served in a softly lit room which takes its inspiration from the name: "innecto" means "weave" in Latin, and the restaurant has a dome-like ceiling in woven walnut strips, and floor-to-ceiling doors in soft-yellow glass.
Seafood, game, risotto and pasta dishes feature strongly. Among Vernice's favourites are black and blue seared tuna loin with tomato tartare and French bean salad (£8.95), red deer carpaccio with beetroot risotto and hazelnut oil (£7.95 as a starter, £11.95 as a main), and saut‚d king scallops with crabmeat brik and wild mushroom sauce (£18.00).
Vernice considers risotto to be probably the most popular dish so far with customers. There are three to choose from, all available as a main or a starter, including saffron risotto with scallops, prawns and chive purée (£7.50/£12.95). Four pasta dishes also come in two sizes, which Vernice says is a popular choice: "Many customers are opting for a small pasta or risotto middle course and skipping or sharing the main course." These include oven-roasted cod with grilled calamari and fennel jus (£11.95) and oven-roasted pheasant breast with pork knuckle stuffing and hazelnut jus (£11.95).
About 15% of customers opt for one of the seven pizzas, such as porcini and asparagus (£9.95) or tuna carpaccio with coriander (£10.95). Side dishes range from sautéd rapini (£3.90) and garlic sautéd mushrooms with herbs (£4.95) to roasted baby new potatoes with pancetta and caramelised onions (£3.90).
Desserts include Valrhona chocolate cake with cherry sauce and cocoa sorbet (£6.95) and coffee parfait with brandy and chocolate biscuit (£5.95).
Average spend, including drink, is £18 for lunch, £43 for dinner and £12 for pizza. A fixed-price lunch menu is available at £14.95 for two courses, £17.95 for three.
Innecto, 66 Baker Street, London W1M 1DJ. Tel: 020 7935 4545. Web site:www.innecto.uk.com
A selection from the menu at Innecto
Lobster consomm‚ with crab and scampi dumplings, £6.95
Cauliflower panna cotta with oscietra caviar, £7.95
Asparagus risotto with rocket salad and roasted tomato vinaigrette, £6.50/£9.95
Porcini ravioli with sautéd chicken-oyster and chicken broth, £6.95/£11.95
Pan-seared monkfish tail with saffron, cardamom and anise, £13.95
Rabbit loin in pancetta with black olive tapenade and honey lavender jus, £13.95
Orange and ginger shortbread with crême chiboust and mixed berries, £5.50
Bubble sugar cup with seasonal sorbets, £5.95
Cream of mirabelle plums and passion fruit with sesame nougatine, £6.95
Menu of the month
Chavignol at the Old Mill in Shipston on Stour, Warwickshire (Caterer, 13 September, page 50) has been named Menu of the Month winner for September. It automatically goes forward to the shortlist for the 2002 Cateys Menu of the Year award.
