Redolent of a dreamy Tuscan escape, there’s so much to enjoy and savour at Frui Momento even before you even take that first exquisite bite.
Perhaps the best, most exciting aspect of this big-hitting lakeside, vineside restaurant run by Seth James in collaboration with Larry Cherubino, is how it breaks the South West paddock-to-plate mould and dedicates an entire section of the menu to seafood.
Marvel at the sweet funk in the XO sauce capping crisp battered squid.
Whether you’re dining underneath the vaulted ceiling, or in the al fresco section (where the fruits de mer are the bulk of the offer along with a cute chicken skewer and a gorgeously light taramasalata), it pays to load your table with at least a couple of picks. Do it if only to experience the joy of folding (peeled!) charred octopus into roasted seaweed and topping it with pickles and ssamjang. Or to marvel at the sweet funk in the XO sauce capping crisp battered squid.
The menu proper holds appeal, too. In lamb, served raw and seasoned with soy and black bean, or ruby-centred wagyu rump with daikon for freshness. Props, too, for serving koshihikari rice with miso pumpkin as a thoughtful vegetarian main. Graceful staff, meanwhile, know their way around a stacked wine list confident enough to look beyond Cherubino drops. A dreamy newcomer, on its way to becoming one of the West’s defining restaurants.
