Mela

In 2019, classic-yet-struggling fine-dining restaurant Number 5 was bought by Jacopo Crosti, the former head chef of the excellent (and missed) restaurant Beirut, and reopened with Enrico Calderaro as head chef. Last year, post-lockdown, it reopened as Mela with an even newer lease on life.

Sitting in a beautiful old brick building on City Rd, Mela is formal but with a welcoming warmth, serving serious food of the Michelin-starred-résumé variety. And it’s delicious. The chawanmushi topped with salmon roe, served as part of the requisite “snacks”, is delicately fishy and extremely moreish. A kingfish aged in kombu, served with fermented chilli and a sunflower seed purée, has a deep, meaty, fermented earthiness that was delicate in technique but robust in texture and flavour. The excellent venison tartare — served with olives, bone marrow and quail egg — was presented by Crosti as just-like-his-mother-used-to-make. We should all be so lucky!

The menu — available as à la carte and five- and seven-course tasting menus — is beautifully executed and well paced, weaving a narrative of flavours and textures and techniques that impressed on the tongue as much as they did on the eye. Perfect for a special occasion.