Our Editor dined at Archway, an intimate neighbourhood restaurant by Battersea Park, close to Battersea Power Station. This relative new comer, opened in early 2023, is a hidden gem – literally – as it’s tucked away from street view under an old railway arch. Archway is part of Spook London, the modern hospitality company which caters for some of the most prominent brands and individuals around the UK. The ethos of the restaurant is to serve tasty and hearty dishes, prepared ethically from producer to table, always with seasonal ingredients.
We arrived for a 8:30pm dinner on a Saturday and the restaurant was heaving with several other late diners still queueing to get a table – always a good sign. There is also an elevated Chef’s Table that overlooks the open kitchen giving a great view of the action. It’s a warm spot though as the cooking is done on an open charcoal fire with a wood-fired oven as well, perfect for baking the most delicious Focaccia and their famed flatbread.
Headed up by Lorenzo Nigro, from Verona, so you’d expect Italian cooking, and the influence of classic Italian is evident but with an interesting twist and strong flavours. You’ll also get plenty of traditional Italian dishes, such as perfect pasta. The menu changes frequently with what’s on season. It’s concise with four starters, four pasta dishes and four mains, plus a couple of pudding options too which our friendly server Tomi explained perfectly. She also made a great wine recommendation – a 2022 Fleurie. The portions are generous, especially the meat options.
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- Photos by Rebecca Dickson
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- Head Chef Lorenzo Nigro
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- The famous flatbreads
What we ate at Archway
For starters we had bresaola, artichoke with whipped ricotta – the bresaola was fantastic and the serving a winning combination. My partner loved the creamy crab tagliolini, and finished it off with the lovely focaccia.
Our mains came in hearty portions. The two large lamb loin chops were juicy pink and the peperonata, sweat and full of flavours, absolutely hit the spot. Probably the tastiest peperonata I’ve ever had. My pan fried red gurnard livornese was a delight too – the saltiness of the capers and olives makes a great livornese a perfect sauce for white fish.
After the very generous portions there really was no need for a pudding, but as it was the week of Fat Tuesday (Shrove Tuesday here) we succumbed to the Bomboloni. These custard cream filled doughnuts came in three, and not minis either. Soft and delissimo is all I can say (still tasty at breakfast as we took some home with us), as was the ricotta, chocolate and pear cake too.
Archway Battersea new neighbourhood Italian serves lunch and dinner
Open for lunch and dinner, hero dishes include fresh pasta dishes made daily. The wine list has been carefully curated to complement the food. There is a range of ever changing high quality wines including old and new world wines on the menu. With a relaxed, intimate and contemporary feel, the local Battersea community is at the restaurant’s core – reflected across every aspect of food, service and design.
The restaurant can host up to 45 covers and is open to guests for dinner service between Wednesday and Saturday from 18.00 – 22.00, and lunch service Friday- Sunday 12.00 – 15.00.
More about Archway and Spook
Emily Few Brown, Founder of Archway says: “I am so happy Archway has been well-recognised so far and it is great to be part of the ever growing buzz around Battersea. Together, with Lorenzo and the whole team, we love serving the whole community with truly good seasonal food”.
Lorenzo Nigro, Head Chef at Archway says: “I love bringing my creativity to Archway’s kitchen. The ever-changing menu allows me to experiment with my cooking and seasonal produce, all in a really intimate environment, which I love.”
