i visited san carlo with my dad nearly two years back. this place is very centrally located; it falls to your right as you walk down temple st. towards new street rail station. it overlooks this beautiful georgian baroque cathedral which i have always admired. to give you an idea of how savvy the place is, i would of course, have to tell you about the brilliant old joint stock just a stones throw away. whats more, there are top firms like wragge lawrence graham & co situated opposite of this restaurant. so, yes, its a savvy place indeed.
anyhow, as you enter the restaurant it strikes to you how modern looking this restaurant is. not typical of italian restaurants which usually try to keep the charm alive from the 'old country'. when i visited it, i had a strange feeling that it was slightly over staffed but then again it was 2 years back.
we had made prior booking even though, the place at time was not seeing much crowd. we were shown a table promptly after checking ourselves in. we had 'agnello alla toscana', which is essentially a lamb dish. now, i have to tell you before being critical that themeatitself tasted fabulous! lamb was fresh and succulent. further, in the name of 'being top notch' it wasn't one of those restaurants which knowingly keeps the centre of themeatintentionally undercooked.
the garnishing i wasn't so happy with. i think the chef had been a tad too liberal with the capers. now, many would tell you as i am telling you now that capers are an acquired taste, they don't in themselves make a dish taste superb. its like your love for vat69, its an acquired love. capers taste salty, piquant and stronger and more peculiar than cayenne pepper. the smell too is sort of strange and they leave a sharp salty after taste. i believe that liberal hand with capers was a turn off for me.
the use of parsley was masterful, i have always found coriander a tad too overpowering. i guess i liked the dish all in all but the capers are the reason why i would be pushing down my rating.
well, that and the staff. the staff seemed a tad sleepy and nonchalant. i think there was one waiter who seemed more proficient with the menu and with the knowledge of the ingredients therein but the younger staff did not have the finesse or the knowledge to handle the more discerning customers.
certainly worth a visit nonetheless.