Latest opening: Bossa
What: A sleek Brazilian restaurant just off Oxford Street. Bossa is ‘an inviting and energetic dining experience’ that offers a menu made up of small and large sharing plates alongside an extensive drinks list that’s big on cachaça.
Who: Alberto Landgraf of Oteque in Rio de Janeiro. He actually spent his formative years in London working at both Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and Restaurant Tom Aikens in the early 2000s. He has gone on to become one of Brazil’s best chefs, with his flagship currently ranked 47 on the World’s 50 Best list. Much of the team at Bossa hails from Brazil, including Landgraf’s high-profile sommelier Laís Aoki.
The vibe: Bossa has a somewhat neutral feel with no obvious nods to its Brazilian origins save a series of artfully-lit shelves that are used to display cachaça, the country’s favourite spirit. The high-ceilinged 60-cover space features an open kitchen to the rear with a ten-seater counter that doubles as a pass. To the front of the restaurant is a bar that backs onto large windows that flood the restaurant with natural light during the daytime.
The food: Landgraf's cooking is as accurate as it is interesting. The bulk of the produce is sourced from the UK but the chef is importing a not inconsiderable 200kg of specialist ingredients from Brazil each month. Small dishes include forerib tartare with shiitake confit and summer truffle; scallops with leeks, buckwheat and tucupi (pictured above); and bone marrow topped with pickled onions and served with cashew cream and a taco like vessel made with tapioca. Larger dishes include pork belly with feijoada broth, marinated swiss chard and black garlic; steamed turbot, courgette, yellow bean vinaigrette and brazil nut milk; and a take on moqueca (the famed Brazilian fish stew). Highlights from the small selection of sweets are a tart of sorts made with egg and coconut custard; and tonka bean flan, cupuaçu jam and cacao nibs. Prices are roughly what one would expect given the location and the chef behind it, with small dishes averaging out at a little over £20 and mains hovering around the £40 mark. One can’t help but wonder if a tasting menu wouldn’t have been a better vehicle for Landgraf’s relatively unfamiliar (to most, at least) top-end food. When quizzed on this, the chef says he was keen to do something more casual that would not invite comparisons with his Rio de Janeiro flagship.
To drink: Recently named Brazil’s best sommelier, Aoki has created a wide-ranging and contemporary wine list that’s arranged stylistically with sections including aromatic/fragrant (white); classic/elegant/velvety (white); and full/rich/structured (red). There are handful of choices under £40 but overall it’s a selection that’s largely aimed at those that don’t baulk at the thought of spending close to £100 a bottle.
And another thing: Bossa is advertised as being ‘in the heart of Mayfair’ and its Instagram tag is @bossa.mayfair, but being north of Oxford Street means it's technically in Marylebone.
4 Vere Street, London W1G 0DH
www.bossa.co.uk
