The great Italian feast at Gatti’s CityPoint

I was invited to one of the famous #ZomatoMeetUps by the fantastically lovely people of Zomato. Zomato is an online restaurant guide, which is made up of a vast and diverse community of foodies, including me, who share their restaurant experiences, with the aim of helping others make more informed restaurant choices. Have you ever thought “oh I’d love to look at the menu for the fancy restaurant on the high street”!? Well look no further than Zomato. They have literally scanned on thousands of menus so if you have one of those thoughts you can peruse the menu online at your own leisure, and that was the inspiration of Zomato!! A #ZomatoMeetUp is an event held for an invited selection of active Zomato users. It’s almost like a reward for being part of their community.  
So the meet up was at Gatti’s Restaurant. Ever heard of it? No neither had I. But it’s a real hidden gem, nestled at the bottom of the CityPoint skyscraper. From the window you can see a very impressive bar, with a few tables but hidden away downstairs is a huge dinning room. Which seats up to 130 people and can even offer a private dining room for 10.  

  
When I arrived I was greeted with a glass of champagne and canapés of lovely little blinis topped with smoked salmon and lobster. I mingled with the zomato team and fellow bloggers.  
Once everyone had arrived we were shown down the stairs, past the impressive collection of varying sized champagne bottles and to our tables.  
Awaiting us proudly on the table were a selection of bruschette including cured ham and artichokes, porcini mushroom and roasted cherry tomato and basil.  

  
The first dish of the night was rigatoni pasta with organic tomato sauce and fresh basil. The pasta was perfectly al dente and the sauce was full of flavour. The sprinkle of parmesan made it all the more moreish.  

   
 Next was the fish course salt baked sea bass. The chef proudly wheeled out the fish whilst the blogger paparazzi took photos. I always find this so amusing! A pappazzi taking photos of a trolley of food! I’m so guilty of doing it but still see the comedy in it.  

  
The chef cut the salt crust to reveal a cloud of steam and a beautifully cooked whole sea bass. 10 years ago I would have run a mile from this but I’m much more accustomed to fish now. So when the plate was placed in front of me I wasn’t at all hesitant to tuck in. I actually really like sea bass, this was really lovely. Soft, succulent, with a gorgeously meaty texture and considering that it had been cooked in a tonne of salt, not over salty. It was explained that this impressive dish is available if ordered in advance as it takes a lot of preparation.

   
 Next course was roast beef with all the trimmings. Again the beef was wheeled out and the paparazzi jumped up to get their shots.  

  
This was a rather impressive hunk of meat. It was picture perfectly presented on my plate too. The beef was cooked to absolute perfection. Perfectly seared and pink in the middle. Also perfectly cooked were the Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes. It’s so hard to get a roast where all the components are well made, but Gatti’s definitely succeeded in this! Best roast dinner I’ve had in a long time and I love, love, loved the gravy! 

  
To cleanse our pallets we received a deliciously refreshing sorbet of lemon and Prosecco. My mouth was salivating for dessert now, even though my stomach was feeling rather full! This was my ‘treat night’ so I was determined to eat as much as I could! 

  
A selection of desserts was the grand finale. Home made tiramisu, profiteroles, panna cotta and cheesecake. Each dessert was really good but I have to say the home made tiramisu was amazing! So much so I had no reservations when my fellow dinner offered me hers! It was lovely and moist and the flavours were well balanced and not at all over powering.  

   
 I have to say the food here is very simple but delicious and well portioned. It’s probably hard to find this type of informal Italian good quality restaurant within the city. But even more impressive than the food was the incredible service and hospitality shown by Giulio who kept topping up the wine and making me smile, and also the lovely Jenny the owner of Gatti’s. It’s a very welcoming restaurant and I can see them having a lot of repeat custom due to the lovely service and modest food. It really is a hidden gem here and you’d be hard pushed to find something like this round these parts. You really can’t beat good customer service. I’ve been to so many restaurants where service is so formal and I wouldn’t remember who served me but I definitely wouldn’t forget Giulio. He really is a huge part of the Gatti’s experience.  

  
So if you want to escape from the city and experience an informal relaxed and highly welcoming dining room with simple but delicious food then head here.  

Thank you to Zomato for inviting me and to Gatti’s for your generosity and fantastic service.  

Gattis City Point

1 Ropemaker Street

Moorgate

London

EC2Y 9HU