Ooze Risotto Bar

Video Reviews for Ooze Risotto Bar

Reviews for Ooze Risotto Bar

• 4

  Ooze Risotto Bar

  62 Goodge Street London W1T 4NE uk
  
  coldclimate

  22nd November 2007

  Wonderfully silky

  Current

  Ooze, it's just not a sexy word, in fact, it's really quite a horrible word, but luckily the food at Ooze is wonderful. The menu is highly orientated around risotto, and nothing much else, and ooze is an excellent word for risotto.
  
  The restaurant is a narrow aware, with plain walls and a high ceiling, and though apparently a little stark during the day adopts a wonderfully sexy low level of lighting in the evenings. There are a mix of table sizes with a handful of pairs and some much larger tables for groups.
  
  Despite being fairly busy, and not having booked, we still got a table at 7:30. The high ceilings also mean that you are not lost in the chatter of the place, with it feeling busy and fun, but not being so noisy you can't hear the person across from you.
  
  I ignored the starters, having been tipped off that the desert were excellent, and headed straight into the day's special of wild mushroom risotto. It was creamy and velvety, the rice still having a good bite, and the mix of mushrooms gave it an excellent earthy tone. My dinning partner, a six foot redhead who never fails to attract restaurants attention, had the butternut squash and hazelnut risotto with sage. It too was excellent, with nice large chunks of butternut holding their space and the hazelnuts having a nice crunch to them.
  
  The wine list had a good selection, both by the glass and the bottle, and the full bodies red I had went well with the mushrooms. The coffees afterwords were OK too, and the lemoncello was served nicely cold in a ceramic thimble which I think was actually a sake cup.
  
  Deserts were duly ordered, I had the semi-frodo and she the apple and berry crumble. The semi frodo was OK, nothing amazingly special, but the crumble was out of this world. The portions are not huge, and the custard was not too thick, the fruit nicely tart and the crunchy topping wonderfully sweat.
  
  The bill for the whole affair ran to only about £40 for the two of us with drinks, coffees, desert and a tip. If you're looking for somewhere new, and you could be tempted by risotto, Ooze is an excellent choice.

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• 3

  Ooze Risotto Bar

  62 Goodge Street London W1T 4NE uk
  
  Lacrimosa

  3rd July 2007

  Choose Ooze

  Current

  As a risotto enthusiast I've been eager to visit Ooze, and my opportunity arrived last week. After some momentary confusion with the doors which saw me yanking at the wrong one like an idiot (tip: it's the one on the right) we were given a warm welcome by the staff. Inside the decor is clean, bright and somewhat clinical. Our waiter was good enough to bring me a sample of the house white which, at 12.95 a bottle, my friend and I deemed to be an acceptable alternative to our usual Pinot Grigio.
  
  Onwards to the food. Following a thimbleful of olives (not free), we started with mixed Bruschetta; an eclectic mix of fennel and olive, tomato salsa, and fig and marscapone. I wasn't too sure about that last one, but the others were very tasty. For the main course I ordered a classic risotto with clams while Tom ordered the day's special risotto with peas and speck and a shaving of parmesan. Now, much has been made in previous reviews about the texture of Ooze's risotto - and rightly so - so my pennyworth is that I found the texture to be pretty good. The rice had just the right amount of bite and the consistency was moist enough to be refreshing without being too runny. I would have liked a few more clams with mine though, while Tom said that his was a little heavy on the peas.
  
  Lastly, dessert. Avoid them. Tom's baked Alaska was 90% egg white while my apple pie sported undercooked apple and watery custard.
  
  All in all, we had a good meal but were glad of the 50% discount on food that my Trusted Places reward card gave me. Certainly I would happily return there for the 5.95 lunchtime special that 'ecuse' mentions below, but I prefer somewhere a little cosier in the evening.

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• 5

  Ooze Risotto Bar

  62 Goodge Street London W1T 4NE uk
  
  ecuse

  12th June 2007

  Current

  Had the lunchtime special - £5.95 for exactly the right amount of risotto. We also had some fresh bread and pesto whilst we waited.
  
  My risotto was borlotti bean, broad bean and pea. Rice was yummy and gooey, beans were just-cooked; exactly the way I like them. I had a bite of my friend's speck and mushroom and that was equally lovely.
  
  We maybe had to wait a little too long to get the bread which was supposed to be 'whilst we waited' but, other than that, I loved it. Excellent value and I'll definitely be going again.

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• 4

  Ooze Risotto Bar

  62 Goodge Street London W1T 4NE uk
  
  Browners

  6th June 2007

  Ooze has "improoved"

  Current

  Cowie, Edwin, Anna and I went off to Ooze last night for a long overdue catch up over a half price dinner courtesy of my Taste London card. Cowie and I have been looking forward to trying Ooze out for quite a while. I've driven past it quite a few times in a taxi on my way to Charlotte Street and always wonder what it's like. Reviews have been mixed. I remember Jay Rayner went mental about how awful the All Day Breakfast risotto was:
  
  The Observer, 12 November
  Jay Rayner does not enjoy the unfortunately named risotto restaurant Ooze, in Goodge Street, London
  
  "If only there had been a straight up saffron risotto on the menu, or one with wild mushrooms and nothing else. Instead, everything is overworked, and the risottos - priced from 8 to 10 - become less a medium than a base. The wild mushroom risotto comes inexplicably with cherry tomatoes. There's sea bass risotto with more cherry tomatoes, olives and basil. Or there's the one I tried (so you wouldn't have to), the all-day breakfast risotto: loose and watery (rather than creamy) rice, mined with fatty chunks of undercooked pancetta, two small Spanish sausages on top, and piled off to the side, a heap of warmed but not cooked cherry tomatoes. Buried inside was a poached egg which, when split, only added to the wateriness. (Meal for two, including wine and service, 60)."
  
  Given the disappointing review above I was intrigued to see if they had changed their menu and responded to the problems mentioned by concentrating on the classics and not getting carried away with crazy concoctions.
  
  It's safe to say that they have. My porcini risotto was exceptionally good. Full of mmushroomy depth... although would have been nice if it had been made with un-reconstituted mushrooms as the dried ones seem to make me fart a lot! Anna's Milanese was delicious. Full of safron and tasting slightly of lemon to match its sharp yellow colouring.
  
  Mains were good too. Our tuna was beautifully raw in the middle and charred on the outside. Just how we like it. But my beans were a bit undercooked and chalky which was a shame. Anna's lamb chump looked delicious too.
  
  We thought we'd make the most of the half price menu so tucked into delicious deserts. Anna's baked Alaska looked impressive and Cowie's crumbled was extremely good too. But neither were any where near as good as the chocolate fondant that Edwin and I tucked into. This was true ooze. Chocolate spreading out from the centre and smothering my plate. You know when you've had a good pudding because you wolf it down and then hear from Cowie, "I didn't want to try it anyway!".... roughly translated as "how dare you eat it all... I've got food envy."
  
  Here's our comment card for a slightly shorer review. Well done Ooze. Bloody good risotto. But would love to see some proper mushrooms in the risotto and a slightly more interesting range. Also, could be worth exploring quinoa and kemut grain risottos too for all those people trying to get lower GI carbs into their diets. Maybe they'll put something on their Ooze blog about it. I'm impresed by their use of blogging as a way of keeping their business in perpetual beta.
  
  http://aroundbritainwithapaunch.blogspot.com/2007/06/ooze-riotto-bar-review.html

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• 3

  Ooze Risotto Bar

  62 Goodge Street London W1T 4NE uk
  
  sue

  22nd May 2007

  Risotto anyone!?

  Current

  I had read in the press about a new Risotto restaurant called Ooze that had opened in London. It sounded intriguing but I wasn't convinced. Then when I read idoru's review below I was sold and immediately booked a table.
  
  Ooze is located on Goodge Street, a short walk from Tottenham Court Road. It is a small space, with a modern, funky feel to it. I loved the white dcor and friendly staff. We dined there with friends at 7pm on a Monday night and the place was packed! There was an excellent buzzy atmosphere, though the lack of soft furnishing made it a tad noisy.
  
  There was a short, reasonably priced wine list and we enjoyed a cold, crisp bottle of Italian white with our meal.
  
  We started with some Mixed bruschetta, Fresh baked bread with pesto, and the Salumi misti. All of the starters were delicious. I was particularly impressed with the quality of the meats in the Salumi misti, just like being back in Italy.
  
  For main course we all had to try the Risotto (though the Super salads did look pretty super!). The boys had the Meatballs risotto with spicy tomato sauce, and the girls had the Butternut squash risotto with hazelnut & sage, and the Pancetta risotto with broad beans and rosemary. They were all very good and our plates were cleaned.
  
  For once I was too full for dessert...disappointing, as I had noticed a tempting sounding Chocolate fondant on the menu. Oh well, I had to settle for a mouthful of the Apple & peach crumble that the boys ordered - not bad, but not quite as exciting as an oozy fondant.

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• 4

  Ooze Risotto Bar

  62 Goodge Street London W1T 4NE uk
  
  idoru

  9th May 2007

  Ooze is the word.....

  Current

  Ooze is the word
  Everybody loves this new concept place. Open a bit longer than 6 months it offers slow food cooked fast, they say you can be in and out in 30 mins so it's perfect for a quick bite after work or before a show. As a non-risotto enthusiast I liked the idea of opting for the low fat/salt option. All this combined with cheap prices quality ingredients and a 50% discount off the food with my TP card, we couldn't go wrong.
  
  Actually to be honest I don't like risotto but am always open to having my mind changed (except on oysters) and from reading the website, where they describe a dish of light fluffiness I had never experienced, I was keen for some Ooze action.
  
  We went around 9 on a Tuesday and it was about a full, our Italian waiter was delightful charming And knowledgeable even if he didn't quite get I wanted a side salad and my friend wanted fennel on the side of her salad. Both issues were super brusquely rectified; by the lady restaurant manger you just felt knew her stuff.
  
  Wine was cheap and cheerful and the starters were gorgeous, for me the highlight was: Burrata cheese, cherry tomatoes basil and balsamic, it just shut me up, I even closed my eyes I know that when you say something melts in your mouth it's a totally over used cliques.. but it actually did. And the basil was sweet and tomatoes perfectly ripe mmmm we also had the bruscetta of the day and the plate of meats (salumi misti). The bruscetta comes highly recommended.
  
  Mains I ordered the mushroom risotto as it looked so good on the website, I was disappointed, not with the taste but just with the fact I wasn't turned on. I enjoyed the first few mouthfuls but became bored, as it became rich and monotonous. Everyone else enjoyed bites of mine as I enjoyed bites of theirs. The highlight of the mains had to be the tuna seared rare on the super salads.. They really are super and will be what I order next time I go. They are large and not stingy on the good ingredients (cheese mainly).
  
  We couldn't fit dessert and were happy with finely made espressos and a bottle of lemonata for those of us that are a wee bit caffeine sensitive, and don't like coffee after 6pm (am I turning into my mother?) Actually that's my only complaint, as an Italian inspired concept how about some fresh fruit desserts/sorbets to cleanse the palate afterwards. That and its almost too modern inside to be comfortable, but I think we maybe clutching at straws here. So final words.. Go here if you love risotto and go if you don't, to have one of their amazing super salads or grills.
  

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