Leo's Review - Clapton - London - The Infatuation
"Before it was Leo’s, 59 Chatsworth Road has been an ice cream factory, a caff, and a . Now, it’s a sexy and sceney Italian restaurant and bar. One where neon clogs peek out like hooves from beneath formica tables and where plates of giardiniera mimic the rainbow-coloured tiles that clad this Clapton heirloom. Some might see this as a bad thing. Others, who fantasise about €1 Italian restoration projects, may disagree. One thing is certain—Leo’s is beautiful, flawed, and seductive all at once. Imagine someone who took a sojourn in Sardinia, raided the SSENSE sale, and returned lambrusco-drunk on Chatsworth Road—that’s Leo’s. Entering the front bar area is like stepping into an aesthete’s fantasyland. One where wood-panelled, mid-century tones, black loafers with white socks, and delightful tramezzino finger sandwiches reign supreme. A meal here has highs (the pastas) and plenty of mids (the mains), but all of it is softened by the unmistakable feeling that you’re in a fever dream of the most Sorrentino variety. The sun-dappled negronis and impeccable manicures are happy distractions to food that doesn’t quite hit the heights. Leo’s is a restaurant that excels in 35mm moments. That first sip of fizz, a wipe of indecently fingerable 60-month aged parmesan whip, the last slurp of agnolotti broth. The menu is straightforward but its quality meanders. The chilled soup could be bathed in and carpaccio di mare is as flavourful as it is vivid. Other things are plain tepid—not least, ironically, the sea bass l’acqua pazza (in crazy water)—but then again, the walnut ice cream has every table spoon-jousting. Hackney is a crowded field when it comes to restaurants and Leo’s isn’t the best of the bunch, but it is certainly the best-looking. Couple that with an oozing plate of cicoria-stuffed cannelloni, a couple of bottles of Tuscan red, and a new Our Legacy shirt you’ve been saving for a Friday night, and it’s enough to make us happy. But if you want food to remember then it’s true—looks aren’t everything. " - Jake Missing
