After having been to St. John's (which I'm not sure I've managed to review here or not) Amy and I have been looking for an excuse to go back. So far, we've not had any luck and that's mostly because we're not heavily motivated to go into London for dinner these days -- especially with her pregnant.
Still, an opportunity presented itself for us to do brunch/lunch in London recently, and Amy decided to book us here for the venue. Overall, I came away feeling well fed -- and I was once more struck by the simplicity of the cuisine they provide.
The menu was, basically, about 15 or so dishes presented together in one logical grouping so that you weren't really certain if something was nominally an appetiser or a main course. Generally, as the price increased, we assumed the portions also increased -- but I don't know if that's true.
I had some roast chicken and a split pea soup. Both were very good -- the chicken was simple, succulent chicken without a whole lot of distraction (I think it was served with watercress) and the soup was really yummy. Amy joined me on the chicken but had a starter that was roasted shallots and goat cheese.
The best part about Amy's starter was that the waiter described it as "a handful of roasted shallots with a blob of goat's cheese." And, lo and behold, that's exactly what it was. This isn't a combination I would have normally thought went together -- but when roasted, the shallots were a little sweet, and they worked excellently with the slightly sour goat's cheese. I just wish we'd had a more plentiful bread basket than we did.
Our guest, Matt, had a game terrine which was pretty "herbacious" (and by that I mean, strong-flavored from an herbal standpoint) and a venison dish as his main. I didn't try the venison but he said it was fantastic -- and it made me slightly regret my choice of roast chicken.
Dessert was not to be missed of course -- Amy had an individual-sized lemon merringue pie that looked good (she was a bit over-fed when she finished and hit a "food coma" shortly thereafter), Matt had some chocolate thing that looked super-rich (and got a thumbs up) and I had a pot of caramel that was really yummy.
Short version -- 3 starters, 3 mains and 3 desserts with enough still water for the three of us ran about 100 GBP with a tip. Not a bad lunch at all, and although it was a little pricey, it was well worth the trip.
Posted by ted at October 4, 2004 12:51 PM