Rabbit, Chelsea

RABBIT

Rabbit*

172 KINGS ROAD

CHELSEA, 

LONDON

SW3 4UP

020 375 00172

INFO@RABBIT-RESTAURANT.COM

* Best viewed on a PC

SN: We have promised ourselves to keep our comments briefer but it's going to be hard with this one.  Rabbit is a restaurant which is about English produce and quality service.  It's a popular place in one of London's high powered shopping areas and manages to keep a feeling of quality personal attention at your table despite the busy environment.  Decor is quirkily garden-orientated with some marvellous humour - though the stuffed Buzzard loitering over our table was nearly as disconcerting as the Boar's head at Paesan.....

The restaurant centres it's food sourcing on the Nutbourne Farm and Vineyard in West Sussex run by three brothers - the Gladwins.  There's much to be commended in their no nonsense approach and soft sell of the obvious - if it's not had far to travel it's likely to be very fresh.  Comparable restaurants we've been to are less adventurous - or perhaps they'd say extravagant with the flavours - and more generous in some portion sizes.  Rabbit has a sister restaurant, The Shed near Notting Hill Gate tube.

Apple Spice: Sipsmith's Vodka, Spiced Apple, Vanilla, Lemon & soda

Magically our spiced vodka cocktails arrived in short order in glass wellingtons.  There is a subtle humour at Rabbit - centred on the garden and it's produce.  Most places over do this kind of thing - the corrugated iron over the upstairs kitchen area took me back to my families garden.  It will appeal to many.

L: Marmite and Mushroom eclair
R: Brown Crab Bomb, Lemon, Dulce

SN: The Amuse bouche are a tad overpriced at first glance but pack a mighty punch - and that's one thing for which I commend the place.  When a flavour is meant to concentrate the mind on the matter in hand it does so with arresting immediacy.  Mine was a brown crab meat bomb - and it didn't so much tease the palate as demand attention.  I'll leave a description of the bread board to our dough correspondent...

Rabbit Wild Yeast Bread, Shallot Butter

LM: I think the picture tells the story of the bread board - rustic but incredibly well done. The bread was clearly fresh out of the oven and a short but vicious fight ensured before we divvied it up. Shallot butter was light and creamy - perfect compliment to the bread.

SN: Dishes at Rabbit arrive as they are cooked and are big enough to share in most cases.  It is not always easy to imagine how the dishes might work together and we tend to address each separately which may be a mistake but makes our job here easier.

We started with Nutty Brut bubbles from the farm and then went onto Hautes Côtes de Beaune, Vieilles Vines, Burgundy, 2012 and finished with a glass each of Pedro Ximenez, Emilio Lustao with our puddings.  Happy choices all.

Turnips, Carrots, Red Cabbage, Chestnuts, Tahini, Cranberries

LM: This was a gorgeous Christmassy salad (yes, I know it's early, but the decorations were up and they were serving mulled wine in the pub across the road) - lovely mix of textures and a real flavour twist from the tahini. I'll definitely be trying some of those flavours at home.

Black Summer Truffle, Wild Mushroom Ragu, Celeriac, Sage Oil

One of the highlights of the meal for me - I don't know if SN will agree but it was so packed with flavour it was bordering on meaty, and not in a negative way - smooth as silk celeriac mash topped with rich mushroom ragout and deep fried (I think) bay leaves. It was rich enough it probably could have done as a main course on its own and one of the best vegetarian dishes I've eaten this year. SN: yes a massive buzz when I tasted this - you don't need meat dishes when there's hearty quality like this.

Grilled leek, yoghurt, cobnuts, honey, dandelion and wood sorrel

Finally from the vegetarian options, a lovely light leek dish - which probably suffered from following the mushroom ragu but was still delicious. We tried dandelion at Paesan and it works equally well here, cutting through the yoghurt sauce. I don't recall having any cobnuts but we were several drinks in by this point! SN: I had a cobnut :-)

Rabbit ravioli, bone marrow, yellow chanterelles and lovage pesto

SN The rabbit ravioli would have been a winner if there had been more of it - rabbit is not an expensive ingredient yet £9.50 for two ravioli parcels struck me as parsimonious.  That said the flavours were tremendous and there must have been a good deal of preparation involved too.  But had we been sharing it would not have been sufficient.

The Duck liver was a greater delight and the use of chives as a green vegetable rather than a garnish was inspired  I can't commend this dish enough - the liver was beautifully cooked

Duck liver, raddichio, chives (and lots of them), Nutbourne bacon, sultanas and mustard

We paused a while after these delightful dishes - enjoyed the ambience, the garden memories and the decor

SN: There were three puddings from which to choose - we both went for favourite tastes.  I chose the Maple Syrup pudding - sweeter by about a half than treacle pud but so much more delicate and fragrant. The portion size here was just right.  and the richness admirably cut by the buttermilk.  We swapped a morsel from these delightful dishes and I can confirm the candied artichoke was as exotic a taste as one might imagine possible in a root vegetable.

Maple Syrup Pudding, Preserved Plum, Rum, Buttermilk

Jerusalem artichoke ice cream, chocolate crumb, wood sorrel

LM: I was tempted by the maple syrup pudding but opted for this, not least on the basis that it was reminiscent of a Viajante dish earlier on in STB's career and had been a fantastic taste combination then. The chunks of chocolate could perhaps have  been smaller but the candied artichoke was an absolute revelation - such an inspired idea and worked beautifully with the smooth ice-cream and chunks of chocolate cake/brownie. Fantastic idea.

SN: all in all a fantastic meal and even with a few reservations this is a real asset in terms of the way it delivers from the farm and vineyard to the table.  The truffle and mushroom ragu, the duck liver and the maple syrup pudding were all exciting, bold and the restaurant does what it sets out to do: flair cooking, small plates and atmosphere.