Disiac

Italian (seafood)
Soho

Certain foods have, throughout history, been associated with romance and sex. Aphrodisiacs can supposedly cause heightened desire for those who eat them and include foods such as asparagus, ginseng and most famously, oysters. It is from this phenomenon that new Soho oyster bar and seafood restaurant Disiac takes its name, providing a romantic setting for customers to enjoy this most amorous food.

We visited Disiac on a quiet Thursday evening, and with a choice of seats available, sat at the bar overlooking the open-plan kitchen. From our vantage point we were able to see many of the seafood ingredients displayed on ice, giving us inspiration and helping us to choose from the pelagic menu. For larger groups, standard tables are available or people-watchers may prefer to perch at the window seats located at the front of the restaurant and watch the world go by.

We started our meal with some exceptionally fresh home-baked bread with oil and olives, followed by baked French cheese and a crab dish with avocado. Both starters were slightly underwhelming, despite impeccable presentation. The crab meat was well prepared and excellent quality but the delicate flavour was masked by an overpowering lemon flavoured dressing, heavy on sharpness and acidity. The cheese was rich and creamy, just as we like it, but slightly underdone and could have done with a few moments more in the oven: the outer edges were gooey and squishy, but the centre was firmer than we would have liked. Small details perhaps, but enough to prevent full marks.

Much better were the main courses: a grilled half lobster served on a bed of rocket, was packed with meat, with subtle flavours in every bite (as always with lobster, we had as much fun breaking into it to get at the meat as actually eating it); and seven grilled spiced tiger prawns served in slightly blackened shells, also served on a layer of rocket and carb-free, and little lemon juice to bring out the flavour in them.

Feeling almost too virtuous with a carb-light meal (let's not talk about the huge hunks of fresh bread and cheese we started), we felt like we had earned a dessert and treated ourselves to rich, dark chocolate gateau and a traditional Mediterranean dessert of pancakes filled with creamy ricotta: the perfect way to finish the meal. These were indeed good desserts and the highlight of the whole three courses.

During our time at the restaurant, we had seen the chefs preparing many meals, including the signature seafood platter containing many different types of shellfish, including razor clams, prawns, whelks and Colchester Rock oysters. On reflection, this certainly looked more satisfying that the meal choices we opted for, so if we were to go back, we'd definitely go for that.

The service at Disiac is attentive and polite, and we were impressed with the reasonable prices in comparison to many other restaurants in the area serving similar dishes at far higher prices. It's fair to say that after a shaky start, our meal got better, but for any brand new opening, we expect the need for a few creases to be ironed out, so if these can be addresses, we feel sure that this will be a welcome addition to Soho's established restaurant scene.

6 Greek Street, W1D 4ED

Average price of main course: £14
Food/Drink: 3/5
Service: 5/5
Value: 5/5

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