Mosaica Restaurant London Review
Mosaica Restaurant
Wood Green, London
Reviewed by Sarah Johnson
When this review was first booked, I looked up the restaurant’s website and location and thought that this was a very unusual type of restaurant as it was located on an industrial estate and not on the high street. To me this meant that it was out of the way of mainstream pedestrian traffic and I did wonder whether that was good or bad for the business. Although being on an industrial estate meant you could access it well if arriving by car, I was using public transport and found it was around a ten minute walk from Wood Green underground station to the premises. Turning into Clarendon Road and seeing The Chocolate Factory Building for the first time, I was still sceptical that you could have a restaurant in such a building.
However, that all changed from the moment I walked through the reception entrance and laid eyes on the restaurant area on the ground floor. It was like you had entered into a different world. You no longer felt like you were in a strange building on an industrial estate but in a very classy restaurant. Mosaica’s website describes the restaurant as shabby chic but I would have to say that some of the elements are more gothic like the candle wax running down the back wall or the large wax ball shape on top of a cupboard. Although the walls were painted dark and a lot of the natural light shut out, it didn’t feel like you were in a dungeon. The space felt airy. This is probably due to its open plan nature and only a couple of pillars rather than walls in the centre space. In addition, most of the lighting was from the hanging fairy lights of all different designs. Some were plain hanging lights others had butterfly covers. All added to the atmosphere along with candles placed on each table and around the room.
We arrived ten minutes early for our reservation and upon walking in the restaurant we were greeted warmly and taken straight to a table. Our coats were offered to be taken if we wished and menus provided as we sat. Drinks were offered straight away but we declined at first to have a few moments to take in the ambiance and the menu. A few minutes later we were again approached and asked if we would like to order any drinks and also whether we were happy with the table offered to us (which we did and we were). The wait staff returned with the drinks promptly and left us alone for a while longer as we had not made up our mind on what to order.
Once I had decided on a Wild Mushroom and Stilton Bruschetta for starters and Tagliatelle with Wild Mushrooms and Truffle Oil for mains, we were able to sit and enjoy our drinks listening to the background music. The waiter, Dominic, returned in a short while to take our orders as was able to answer any questions we had regarding the serving of the fish dishes that we asked. Our starters arrived within a short wait time. The whole plate was done to perfection – the mushrooms were fresh, the Stilton melted and the Bruschetta just right. Even the rocket lettuce was crisp and fresh. The staff checked on us at the beginning of the starter to make sure all was to our satisfaction, which it was.
The special event of the evening was The House Jazz Band. This was a group of young musicians who were extremely good and received more than one round of applause from their audience over the course of their set. Once the band had begun playing, we were asked by the wait staff if the music was too loud for where we were sitting and whether we would like to move.
During our starter course was when the restaurant began to fill up with more patrons. There were a few early birds like us, some of whom were already seated in the restaurant when we arrived but from 8pm onwards seemed like the prime time of the evening. With the tables beginning to gradually fill up, I was a little worried that the nice relaxed pace that the restaurant had adopted in service so far would change as it got busier but this did not occur. Neither ourselves nor any other guests felt rushed to eat and leave so to give the table to new patrons. This meant that your food could be enjoyed much more.
Our main course arrived promptly and I could not believe the size of the portion of pasta I had received – it was huge. My companion had ordered the Salmon and when it arrived it was such a beautiful fillet, I of course had to try that as well. Whilst trying to negotiate for a piece of my companion’s salmon, my nose was drawn back to the truffle oil on my plate and over my pasta. I can honestly say that from the first bit of Tagliatelle, mushrooms and truffle oil this was the best pasta dish I had eaten in a very long time. Everything was cooked to perfection – the pasta was just right and not too under or overcooked. I eventually persuaded my companion to allow me to try the salmon as well and it was cooked to perfection. It was still flaking when you used your fork on it and it tasted sublime. As the food had tasted so good, I felt bad in leaving some on my plate as I felt that if I was to finish it all up, I wouldn’t be able to try one of the mouth watering dessert choices that were on the menu. The plates were cleared quickly once we had finished and we were again asked if everything was satisfactory and whether or not we would like desserts or coffees or any other drinks.
For dessert I ordered a Strawberry Eton Mess – of which I had no idea what it would be. I was going to ask Dominic, our waiter, but was enjoying listening to the live jazz so much I completely forgot. I also ordered an Americano with milk at the same time. The coffee came first. It was hot as it should be and came with hot milk. The dessert followed and the Eton Mess contained not only the strawberries but blueberries and pieces of meringue. Even though I was filled to the brim from the previous two courses, I could not pass up such a delightfully looking and smelling dessert. It tasted even better than it looked. Again we were checked on by the wait staff asking if the dessert was satisfactory and whether we required any more drinks. Once finished the table was cleared and we were asked if we required anything further and then left along to finish our drinks.
I was at this point in the evening I began to wonder whether or not the great service we were provided with was because I was to write a review of the evening. Upon looking around the restaurant and watching all the wait staff working I realised that the level of service we had received was exactly the same that the other patrons had received.
I have been to a number of restaurants over the years but this has to be the first one that I felt most comfortable being in. It had great food, music and atmosphere. It is a place that I hope to be able to return to in the future. It will also be a restaurant that I will mention to friends to try as I believe that everyone should eat here at least once and experience the wonderful food and amazing service that we received. My overall rating for my experience at Mosaica would be 6 out of 5 for such a wonderful experience.
Rating: 5/5 
For more information, to view the menu or to make a booking visit www.mosaicarestaurant.com.
Mosaica @ the factory
Unit C005, The Chocolate Factory, Clarendon Road, Wood Green, London, N22 6XJ
020 8889 2400
