Oh happy, happy me. I’m sitting in a buzzy Clerkenwell outpost by the name of Fidelio Cafe, listening to classical music up close and personal. It particularly warms the heart (and ears) to see the Fidelio Cafe’s musical doors wide open with the merry popping of bottles, the clink of glass and the lively hum of human beings who are out on a social and clearly very excited about the evening ahead.
What is the Fidelio Cafe?
The Fidelio Cafe is no ordinary caff. It’s a regular café by day, but at night it transforms into an intimate, candlelit musical salon. Think chamber music performed up close, with dinner and wine to match.
The venue was conceived by owner Raffaello Morales, a pianist who studied physics and mathematics and worked in finance before turning to music. Clearly not short on the braincell front, he came up with an appealing concert and dinner formula which, judging by the full house the night we visited, is very successful.
An evening at the Fidelio Cafe
We tuck into apéritifs and nibbles before Morales and chef Alan Rosenthal give the audience a heads up on the format of the evening. First up is the concert. A three-course dinner follows, and the night we visited it consisted of half a roasted red pepper with melted burrata and pesto, then a confit duck leg with crispy skin and frisée, lentils and lardons. There was a spicy aubergine cake for vegetarians and a homemade posset with popping candy for dessert. I tucked into a mouth-watering gluten and dairy-free menu, especially concocted by chef Rosenthal for tricky me.
The fantastic selection of wines has evidently been curated by a connoisseur. We chose a Baglio Antico Catarratto, an unfiltered and organic orange wine that bursts with minerality and tastes almost volcanic.
The music
Morales gives us a musical synopsis, starting with a fun anecdote about Mozart’s Violin Sonata in B-flat, K 454. The story goes that Mozart came to the premiere in Vienna without having written out his own piano part, so he played from memory with a blank sheet of music in front of him. Emperor Joseph II, armed with opera glasses, could plainly see that the page was empty, but the rest of the audience were successfully fooled.
And so the music starts. We’re here to see Francesca Dego, a London-based Italian violinist who is fast becoming one of the most sought-after violinists in the world, and the pianist Francesca Leonardi. The two Francescas have been collaborating for years, and their spellbinding programme includes Mozart’s Violin Sonata K 454, Busoni’s Violin Sonata no 2 op 36a in E minor and Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Figaro Paraphrase on Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia.
There are several generous encores, thunderous applause, and the ladies stay for dinner, mingling with the guests like long-lost friends. It’s a charming, effervescent evening, and as we leave the twinkling café lights behind us to head home, I know I will be back soon for an encore or two. Clever Morales, I say, and you know what: the Fidelio Cafe can string me along any time.
Visiting the Fidelio Cafe
The Fidelio Cafe is at 91-95 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1R 5BX. It is a café by day, with concerts and dinners on selected evenings, and the team also runs the Up Close and Musical series, which pairs live performances with candid conversations with the artists. Programmes, prices and opening times change, so check what’s on and book through the Fidelio Cafe website before you go.
The concert, menu and ticket details above describe the evening we visited, so please check the website for the current programme and prices.