Frantoio by Bucci is a family run Italian restaurant on King’s Road in Chelsea, shaped by Bucci’s generous hospitality and more than three decades of experience. The welcoming white tablecloth dining room aims to give guests a little piece of Italy without unnecessary formality. Simple recipes, fresh ingredients and a lively personal style make it equally suited to a neighbourhood lunch or a special dinner.
Starters include grilled sardines, Parma ham with figs, tomato and basil bruschetta, thin fried courgettes and deep fried tiger prawns. Other selections may bring together scallops with spinach and asparagus, mussels with fresh tomato or mozzarella cooked until crisp. Salads using fennel, citrus, avocado and seasonal vegetables give the opening plates a lighter Mediterranean character.
Pasta ranges from fettuccine with slow cooked ragù and spaghettini with clams to macaroni cheese, penne with pesto and seafood preparations with prawns. The recipes are direct and recognisably Italian, relying on good pasta, careful sauces and restrained seasoning. Diners can treat a pasta as the main event or follow it with one of the restaurant’s grilled meat and fish dishes.
Veal Milanese, veal escalope with lemon, grilled veal chop, sea bass, salmon and lemon sole anchor the main course selection, usually accompanied by potatoes and vegetables. Spinach, baby broccoli and fried courgettes can be added for sharing. Tiramisu, panna cotta and profiteroles offer familiar sweet finishes, supported by Italian wine, cocktails and the warm service for which Frantoio is known.
Address: 397 King’s Road, Chelsea, London SW10 0LR, United Kingdom