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[Food](/life/food)

 /  05 November 2024  

#  My Life in Food: Anna Tobias, Café Deco  


Anna Tobias’s cooking was shaped by iconic chefs like Margot Henderson and Ruth Rogers. The result is her honest approach to good, simple food, which Anna makes at her restaurant, Café Deco in Bloomsbury. Here we sat down with her to talk early food memories, favourite places to eat and her signature dish.  


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**One of my earliest food memories would be choosing ice cream in Italy**. My grandmother lived there, and we’d visit regularly. I would deliberate for ages, even though I always chose lemon – much to the annoyance of my older brother.

**The first dish I ever learned to cook?** Possibly Rice Krispies treats! I definitely remember frequently topping and tailing beans though – perhaps it was a repetitive task I enjoyed doing.

**I don’t have a signature dish as such.** The menu changes weekly at the restaurant – except for the egg mayonnaise, so I suppose that’s our signature.

 

 Sunday lunch is always ROAST CHICKEN, roast potatoes, some kind of greens depending on what's IN SEASON and plenty of gravy.  
 

 



 

 

**My most visited restaurant is** [**Hunan Restaurant**](https://www.hunanlondon.com/) **in Pimlico**. I've been going for 25 years. I also love [40 Maltby Street](https://www.40maltbystreet.com/). My favourite bars are [Hector's](https://hectorslondon.co.uk/) for wine and [Durrants Hotel](https://www.durrantshotel.co.uk/) or [upstairs at Rawls](https://www.therawlsrestaurant.com/) for a cocktail, and there’s a new one – [Tollington’s Fish Bar](https://www.instagram.com/tollingtons.fishbar/?hl=en) – that I have my eye on.

**My favourite place is in the world** [**Hotel Miralago**](https://www.hotelmiralago.it/en/). It's very dated and family-run but it's perfect in its simplicity and has a gorgeous view looking down onto Lake Garda.

**Steve Williams is my favourite chef** – his food is delicious and there is a complexity to it that you don't always realise because he’s so subtle and elegant with it.

 

 [ ![](https://media.sheerluxe.com/9f2OF8DRjfxPKF80dFxlefnhY_w=/800x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2024%2F11%2Fmy-life-in-food-anna-tobias-cafe-deco-25.jpg?itok=HehdQTM4)

 

 ](https://www.cafe-deco.co.uk/) 

 

 

 

 

 

 [ ![](https://media.sheerluxe.com/ZX7zHYrpMja3WcYSb0mFBdTLsE4=/800x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2024%2F11%2Fmy-life-in-food-anna-tobias-cafe-deco-10.jpg?itok=euLvLTNF)

 

 ](https://www.cafe-deco.co.uk/) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**The most memorable meals aren't always about the food**. It’s about the people you're with and the time you've had together. My most memorable group meal is always with the friends I refer to as 'my Italians' (though there's one French person in there too).

**For date night, Weinobib was always top of the list.** It’s sadly closed now but [The Plimsoll](https://www.instagram.com/the.plimsoll?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D) is a fun alternative.

**My guilty pleasure is a shop-bought chicken Kiev – delicious!** After a long day at work, I cook a lot of soup for myself because it's both comforting and nourishing, but my go-to quick meal is tomato pasta.

 

 

 

 

 [ ![](https://media.sheerluxe.com/XYcNxjQzGivDibO3OuI-pM1hhQY=/1920x0/smart/filters:no_upscale()/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2024%2F11%2Fmy-life-in-food-anna-tobias-cafe-deco-4-credit-james-nelson-fullbleed.jpg?itok=_RFkyK4L)

 

 ](https://www.cafe-deco.co.uk/) 

 James Nelson 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 [ ![](https://media.sheerluxe.com/RGcJgeQuoTgSM5tF2TVOwE49PdU=/800x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fsheerluxe.com%2Fsites%2Fsheerluxe%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2024%2F11%2Fmy-life-in-food-anna-tobias-cafe-deco-20-portrait.jpg?itok=HN7Royb3)

 

 ](https://www.cafe-deco.co.uk/) 

 

 

 

 

 

**My last meal on earth would start with my mum's beef broth and semolina dumplings.** That would be followed by roast chicken with all the appropriate sides, and rice pudding (the [St. John](https://stjohnrestaurant.com/) recipe).

**My favourite drink is water.** I know, radical. But my favourite cocktail is a toss-up between an Aviation or a Hanky Panky.

**I do a weekly shop at Islington farmers’ market.** Sunday lunch is always roast chicken, roast potatoes, some kind of greens depending on what's in season and plenty of gravy. When I’m cooking for friends, I find goulash is a real crowd-pleaser.

 

 I don’t have a SIGNATURE DISH as such. The menu changes weekly at the restaurant – except for the EGG MAYONNAISE, so I suppose that’s our signature.  
 

 



 

 

**My dream dinner guest would be the football pundit Ian Wright**. I'm a massive Arsenal fan, and I get the impression he enjoys a good time and takes real pleasure in life.

**Fish and chips is my favourite takeaway.** At the other end of the scale, the most decadent meal I’ve ever had to was at [Chez l'Ami Louis](https://www.instagram.com/ami_louis_restaurant_/) – foie gras, followed by roast chicken, followed by prunes in armagnac.

**There are so many restaurants I’m yet to try.** I’d love to go to [Arpège in Paris](https://www.alain-passard.com/en/), [The Waterside Inn](https://www.waterside-inn.co.uk/) in the UK, [La Merenda in Nice](https://lamerenda.net/), i Rizzari in Sicily... I could go on. But the under-the-radar place everyone should know about is definitely [101 Thai Kitchen](https://www.101thaikitchen.uk/).

 

 *Visit* [CAFE-DECO.CO.UK](https://www.cafe-deco.co.uk/)

 

 

 

 

  

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