Review: Valentina Fine Foods Tower Bridge

By Tom Gatehouse
@tragatehouse
tomgatehouse.com

Have you ever had a train disappear on you? I’ve not, probably because I live in London. Sure, we get cancellations, strikes, delays and recently, so I hear, services abandoned due to the heat. But there’s always an explanation via the tinny female voice from the speaker systems, sounding straight out of a 2002 sci-fi flick.

Charlbury station, a few country lanes out of Witney where I had spent the week, has squat. Squat apart from a broken information point, a bench, and a poster for the county fair two months ago. Here, seven residents and I were barred access to the capital without warning, with no indication as to the wait for the next train. Did I mention there’s no signal in Charlbury either? Just lots of angry goats and curious cattle.

I later found that it was these same cows that had ground things to a halt. Obviously finding the idea of an impromptu picnic on the line just too curious a concept to resist. The domesticated ungulates of the Midlands clearly still have some schooling to do.

I promise my choosing of the calf’s liver at the newly opened Valentina Fine Foods by Tower Bridge had nothing to do with my recently festering animosity towards their potential mothers.

It was, however, exactly the main course I needed after such a haphazard journey. I was hideously late for the dinner, but my companion and I wisely indulged in two glasses of the Belussi Doc Brut Prosecco (£4.95) on arrival, simmering things down a treat.

I was already a firm fan of Valentina, having visited the Chiswick branch opening last year. The restaurant area is located at the back of every store as the climax of an Italian haven of products first sourced from Saint Elia Fiumerapido in central Italy, and the newest addition is once again a place with charm and depth.

The Zoccola and Arcari families started Valentina in Sheen back in 1991, and with the Tower Bridge outpost making it eight for the expanding empire, it’s clear that London and it’s greater neighbours have taken to them like a duck to water. Or a cow to train tracks.

Owner Bruno Zoccola, who named the chain after one of his daughters, told me that day in Chiswick of his pride over Valentina’s ‘Aladdin’s cave’ of products. It is quite impossible not to be struck by the selection and the quality when strolling through the doors. Everything from truffle salami to Valentina’s own brand carpaccio of artichokes is catered for in what is a huge range of Italian delicacies and groceries. An outstanding market place for Italian food lovers.

Back in the restaurant, a starter of the Primavera, an olive oil-marinated medley of sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, garlic and artichokes (£3.25), was very well received, as was the Antipasto Della Casa, a sharing platter of freshly sliced meats with a salad and provolone dolce (£9.95). The deli counter at every Valentina is rightly considered to be a main attraction.

With a mixture of ice white and brick walls, Azzurri-blue banquettes and mounted Moto Guzzi Lodola bike (a trademark feature for every one of their restaurants), Valentina is rustic with a dash of bravado. ‘Life is too short for bad wine’ is emblazoned across the white and gold bar, with a great selection of 200 wines from both established houses and up and coming producers available across the shop and restaurant.

We enjoyed two large glasses of the Trebbiano (£5.50), before I moved on to the Moltepulciano (£5.50) with my calves liver, the Fegato (£14.50). Pan-fried with onions and white wine, and served with polenta cake and cherry tomatoes, these were deeply rich yet fast moving across the palate. My only qualm lay amidst the cacophony of tomato vines, of which there were clearly an over-abundance.

My companion tucked into the Formaggio Di Capra (£11.95), a goat’s cheese salad muddled with red peppers, artichokes, and baby spinach. I’ve tried some poor renditions over the years, but this gets both our votes.

We polished off a portion of the home-made tiramisu (£5.25), and eagerly dived back into the Valentina shop proper, eyeing up the wall of pasta, artisan kitchen utensils, and freshly made giant fruit tarts. Needless to say, things were bought. To say they’ve already been eaten, and thoroughly enjoyed, would also be correct. If only Charlbury and its cows were as revealing.

Valentina Fine Foods: Tower Bridge
Address: 31 Shad Thames, London SE1 2YR
Phone: 0207 036 6028
Website: valentinafinefoods.com
Twitter: @valentina_deli