Carlo Scotto at the Four Seasons: experimental pop-up that has style and substance

A concern you might have when facing down a tasting menu is that you’ll be too full to appreciate what you’re eating as you reach the final stages of the meal, but the portion sizes here were thankfully well thought through. I also appreciated the pace of the experience – we had precisely the right amount of time to digest between each course, while never feeling impatient for the arrival of the next mouthful. 

Caviar tartelette with scallops, galangal and matsutake mushrooms

Our tasting menu was expertly paired by Filippo Carnevale, who was head sommelier at Xier and is taking the reins at Amethyst alongside his long-term business partner, Scotto. My dining partner and I enjoyed receiving brief explanations from Carnevale at every pour, who contextualised each wine for us, talking us through the thought process behind the pairing. 

We started with a creamy and almost nutty Ruinart champagne with the finest bubbles I’ve ever tasted, before working our way through a series of whites hailing from California’s Napa Valley, Rioja in Spain and Langhe in northern Italy. Our beef course was paired with a full bodied, smoky glass of Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon, also from the Napa Valley, with its clove-like overtones perfectly complementing the richness of the meat, which had been marinated with more than 30 spices and came with barbecued Medjool dates.

Dessert – an “amethyst geode” made of crunchy praline, hazelnut mousse, bittersweet clementine jam and white chocolate – was Instagram worthy, but happily not a case of style over substance. It really did resemble the geological formation, aided by the rock-like slab of dehydrated chocolate on the top of it (which had quite a strange, crumbly texture). This was accompanied by a deliciously fruity Sicilian dessert wine, which was our seventh tipple of the evening and perhaps slightly unnecessary, but when in the Four Seasons…

The ‘amethyst geode’ made of praline, hazelnut mousse, clementine jam and white chocolate

There are only a couple of weeks left to experience Scotto’s residency, so I would suggest booking pronto. But there’s no need to stress if your April’s looking chocka, as all this and more will no doubt be available at Amethyst, which is already taking reservations. 

The seven-course tasting menu at the Four Seasons is £120 per person, with the option to add on either a classic or prestige wine pairing at a supplementary charge of £135pp or £195pp respectively. To book see fourseasons.com

Article source: https://www.theweek.co.uk/arts-life/food-drink/956396/carlo-scotto-four-seasons-restaurant-review