Riding House Cafe

Riding House Cafe

43-51 Great Titchfield Street, 

London 

W1W 7PQ

020 7927 0840

http://www.ridinghousecafe.co.uk

LM: Riding House Cafe has been on our extensive list of places to try for a few months now, so my mum visiting seemed like as good a reason as any to give it a go. The interesting vegetarian options on the menu had really drawn my interest, so off we went.

It's not particularly easy to find, located on a backstreet near Oxford Street, but was fairly busy at 3pm on a weekday; nonetheless staff were polite and effective throughout and we weren't kept waiting at any point.

Artichoke dip with crostini

We started with some fantastic buttery nocerella de belice olives which I forgot to photograph and the artichoke dip with crostini. The dip was hot and fresh which is always a good sign with a fantastic grilled crust - more bread would have been nice but we were quite happy finishing it off with our spoons.

There is the option to do a selection of sharing dishes but on this occasion we decided to share the two vegetarian mains and leave room for dessert.

Polenta with goats cheese, tomato and basil

Grilled polenta was buried under a mound of salad, confit tomatoes and goats cheese - very generous portion size and well balanced tastes and textures - we had no trouble polishing this off between us.

Macaroni Cheese Fritter on pea salad

Macaroni cheese fritter was one of the dishes that had made me so excited about visiting RHC - I'd been imagining a rich, crisp on the outside, gooey fritter filled with well seasoned pasta. Maybe less high expectations would have made the reality less disappointing - it was extremely bland, like school-dinner mac and cheese that had been coated in breadcrumbs and fried in not very hot oil. I did enjoy the salad underneath it although it had a little too much black pepper for my taste.

So, onto dessert...

The Infamous Souffle

Peach soufflé with raspberry ripple icecream. Standout. I'm a sucker for a souffle at all times; they feel like the most guilt free pudding and yet so tasty - add in peach and raspberry and mum and I were sold. As you'd expect, there was a ten minute wait; the soufflés were brought to the table, steaming hot with little bowls of divine raspberry ripple ice-cream which certainly tasted homemade and was one of the highlights of the meal. 

The soufflé? Delicately flavoured, beautifully crispy on top, and raw on the inside. I mean, absolutely liquid. Oops.

The waiter gave us a slightly disbelieving look when we queried this.

"I think this is always what a soufflé looks like" he said, "But I'll check with the kitchen."

It was probably only about two minutes until he came back with the chefs apologies, confirming that yes, the soufflé was meant to be cooked in the middle, and a two replacements would be out within the next ten minutes. The manager also came over to apologise which was a really nice touch - these things happen in a restaurant but it's good to see genuine disappointment from the staff when it goes wrong.

Unfortunately it's difficult to be so forgiving when the same mistake happens twice in such quick succession, and within the promised ten minutes we were served two more raw soufflés, admittedly with slightly more impressive height than the pictured ones. The manager was mortified - understandably - and we decided against trying another dessert option, got the bill and left.

It's a shame, because I left thinking RHC has a lot of potential. The staff are friendly, cheerful and polite, the menu has a decent variety of non-standard options and there's a lovely atmosphere. It's fairly reasonable for the area too - a tasty and filling lunch for two with wine came to less than £60 (although we weren't charged for dessert). 

The problem is that all of that pales into insignificance if the basics aren't done right. I hope we got RHC on a bad day but I can't bring myself to want to go back or recommend it on the basis of the visit.

Ink, Mile End

Ink

44 Palmers Road 

Mile End

London, 

E2 0TA

020 8983 6634

https://www.facebook.com/inkrestaurant

SN:  We had been warned it would be hard to find Ink - we phoned and they talked us in.  But for the avoidance of doubt Ink is in the block at the end of cul-de-sac - it's set back from the road and up some stairs.  DO NOT GIVE UP in your search and if you are struggling give them a ring - it is sooooo worth it.  Ink's creative force is Martin Meid, a Lithuanian chef who clearly likes to try squeeze every last ounce of taste and texture from his ingredients (all seasonal so the menu is rarely static) by whatever means.  So the basis of our 5 course tasting menu was similar to our ventures to Grainstore and Viajante - so by the side of the Regent's Canal on chilly February night we approached Nordic cuisine with some excitement. 

LM: Happily after a few disappointing vegetarian experiences the kitchen were more than happy to provide a meat and fish-free menu for me. I started with smoky charred chicory served with a soft poached egg and nut and stilton crumbs. It's not something I would have picked ordinarily but the flavours and textures worked fantastically.

Charred Chicory with Soft Egg, Nuts and Stilton

SN: I thought the chicory starter was a great way to set the tone - they are not afraid of taste or texture or striking presentation.  Everything your mother may have taught you about burnt food was put aside here - and it worked.

Cured Cod and Elderflower

SN: The main business of a tasting menu is to confound your expectation and my second dish in our contained a icy cold pickled fish and not much else. The deal was that it had been pickled in Elderflower vinegar.  I'm not a big fan of elderflower as a flavour and yet the delicate remanents of it against the cod and and acid were brilliant.  I would never put elderflower with cod in a million years: but this combination worked beautifully.

LM: My veggie alternative was in the same presentation (the rocks, apparently, have come from Brighton!) but filled with pickled vegetables. Lovely light, flavoursome course but not quite as standout as some of the others for me...

Seared Salmon with spinach, quinoa, daikon, onions and vanilla mayonnaise

SN: There's something about these burnt vegetable flavours which carries me past the usual domestic horror of burned food.  It was delightful to lift those tender onion halves which are delicate at first and then deliver a punch of their basic, carbonised form.  The spinach and Daikon were lovely too - the winning part of this dish was the vanilla mayonnaise,  Again a very simple idea applied in an unusual context.  It worked very well with the finely seared salmon - again a mixture of delicate and robust flavours but wonderfully mediated by the sweet mayo.  This is one I'm determined to try at home - it lifted the salmon beautifully.

LM: My next course was quinoa, spinach, morels, raisins and burnt onions with vanilla mayonnaise. As with SN's dish, the sweetness of the mayo really lifted it into something more than the sum of its parts - fantastic mix of salty and sweet flavours and the burnt onion was a revelation both in terms of taste and texture.

Beef Cheek, Belly Pork, Mashed Potato, Heritage Carrots and Black Cabbage

SN:  Now there are times to rave about new flavours and there are times just to relax with a job well done on familiar themes.  This beef and pork plate was quite conventional - the beef cheek collapsed under the slightest knife pressure,  The pork belly was robust and fatty but not greasy.  The only link to our previous courses was a superbly judged crispy black cabbage.  It reminded me of Sunday lunch fresh garden veg and the comfort of a well mashed potato.

LM: Heritage carrot 'risotto' with a mushroom stock and black cabbage was a really interesting take on my usual nemesis of a dish - instead of rice they had used pearl barley which gave it a wonderful bite. The sauce was rich and creamy - by this point in the meal I could probably have done with a smaller portion but it was delicious.

Winter Rhubarb, Soft Cheese, Vanilla Chocolate Mousse, Biscuit

SN: Just divine - I could go on but I won't - absolutely the right things together.

LM: Hands down one of the best desserts I can remember eating. The different components were light as feathers - even the flower was edible and complimented the flavours! Rhubarb was soft and sharp while retaining enough bite and the vanilla mousse and cream cheese married into a sort of deconstructed cheesecake except better. Absolutely amazing.

Service was prompt and friendly - there was just one waiter covering but he had everything under control and had time to sit and have a chat with us about the concept of the restaurant as we were paying up.

SN: the wines were very pleasant but not the dizzying distraction they could have become.  Three glasses - Prosecco, white and red came with the tasting menu.  We had a discount too thanks to an offer LM found.  But even without it Ink is a gem of a restaurant that cares about it's customers, produces marvellous very fresh ideas with very fresh food and delivers in every respect.  We had white port to finish as we chatted. I've seldom come out of a meal feeling so relaxed and looked after.  Brilliant!

POST SCRIPT

We try to be positive about great food and drink at Split the Bill but our night at Ink was preceded with a very different experience just the other side of Wellington Green

SN: Our quest for culinary excitement took us to Mile End, and so we chose the nearest thing to a cocktail bar we could find for the pre-meal snifter.  The East London Liquor Company looked so promising with a magnificent still, beautifully lit and there were customers in at just after 6pm which bodes well.  The service was pretty dire: there was no cocktail menu, the reluctant and graceless bar man couldn't have done more to make it clear he didn't want to be serving us.  He brought out drinks to our table without any explanation of what he'd made.  The lemon flavoured gin-based concoction was one dimensional, the ice should have been crushed and the rosemary was insufficiently infused. Thankfully things picked up from here...

Granger and Co, Clerkenwell

Granger & Co

Clerkenwell Green

50 Sekforde Street

London EC1R 0HA

T + 44 20 7251 9032

http://grangerandco.com/#menus-hours-clerkenwell

SN: Granger & Co, one of a worldwide chain of restaurants founded by Australian Bill Granger is - like Caravan - one of those places which is part of unfamiliar London.  It's sited on Clerkenwell Green and one might best describe it as 5 minutes walk north of the Farringdon Underground and Overground stations.  It's a quiet and quaint area of London, alleys, cobbled squares and discrete venues for eating and drinking.

We took cocktails in the Zetter Townhouse which is a sumptuous pad, virtually hidden except for a name plate, and blessedly not packed at 6pm (ish) when we met.  It is plush and comfy with a stag's head on the wall and a tremendous number of books and pictures.  Our cocktails were impeccable and service was charming.  We will go back.   

LM: Granger and Co is on the first floor and at first glance could be mistaken for an office; I'd guess they don't get much passing trade but even at 6.30 it was starting to fill up for dinner. The restaurant itself is light and roomy, a nice change from the cheek to jowl seating found in some places.

SN: It's worth dwelling a bit on the wine list (though the full drinks list is remarkably sensible, varied and, to be honest, just as intriguing as the wine list). We are seasoned wine drinkers and so Christmas having taken its usual toll I was looking for something a bit different.  At first glance the mainstays of any wine list are there - but look a little closer and the rest is perhaps more off the beaten track (and mostly on an Aussie track) than one might expect.

I was delighted to see a Reyneke Syrah from the Stellenbosch in South Africa not too far from Cape Town Airport and opt for that amongst the higher end reds from Italy, New Zealand, France and of course Australia.  It was a very smooth and fragrant choice as it happen - exquisite at the temperature served.  It's a well rounded wine which in no sense over-powers or swamps the palate.  There's none of the cloying richness which had pervaded my Christmas - a welcome change from red wines which are over-powering by the end of the bottle in what many feel should be an abstemious month. This Syrah will be too reticent for some but it's discrete presence held us both to the point where we were disappointed that the bottle was empty.  The tastes are delicate and warm - autumn fruits not summer ones and as everything we ate, the balance was just right.

braised artichoke, burrata, lemon & garlic 

LM: One reason I was so keen to come here was the extensive choice of vegetarian options; it took me ages to chose my dishes! I started with braised artichoke and burrata served with roasted garlic - it was divine, light, tasty and exceptionally well seasoned with chilli flakes, black pepper and a splash of lemon juice.

SN: Sometimes I just want to see how a restaurant deals with the basics so I went down a course of least adventure for this meal.  Calamari, Steak and Chocolate Mousse were the headlines.  The Calamari were delightful it their crispy light batter and served with green payaya which was new to me and a refresh and ever so slightly fragrant salad item.  Everything here at Granger seems to be done with an understated excellence - the herbs were super fresh, the nuoc cham amazingly tasty with  neither chilli nor sugar dominant.  This was to be the norm.

fried calamari, green papaya, nuoc cham, herbs, peanuts & crispy shallots 

warm lentils, mozzarella & sumac roast pumpkin, spinach & za’atar 

LM: My main course was a large plate of salad, which doesn't really do it justice! The pumpkin had retained some of its bite, the helping of mozzarella was generous and the lentils hiding under the spinach were more flavoursome than any I can remember. Again, simple, healthy food done really well.

SN: my steak was a joy.  Ashdale produced near Bath by Alec Jarratt is according to one tasting "the best steak in the world". It is a market leader in a movement away from lean steak towards beef with has more marbling and with it more taste, succulence and yet remaining tender.  These qualities hit you between the eyes.  Much of the rest of the dish was incidental to me.  To announce it the best steak I've ever had would be facile - but to say this steak is well worth tasting and is clear streets ahead in terms of flavour and texture might be of greater interest.  Much else could be written about the delicate blended butter dressing and the watercress - both represent finely judged balance of a super dish.  but just go try it: its a marvel.

ashdale west country sirloin steak, miso & tarragon butter, horseradish, watercress & fries 

white chocolate & pistachio pavlova, passion fruit & yoghurt cream 

LM: For my dessert I gave up on healthy and opted for the pavlova. The pictures don't quite do the size of it justice - it was massive and full of topping. From memory it was studded with chocolate chips and the sugar dusted pistachios were on top but it was all a bit of a haze of tastes and textures - one of the best desserts I can remember eating.

SN: My search for glory on the beaten track took me to a dessert I would normally regard as a bit of a cliché.  Memories of sickly, cloying or overly bitter mousse and overpowering accompaniments were soon banished.  This wasn't the trial by cacao I'd put myself through at Rabat 1745 but a very delicately balanced affair, not trepidatious with the salt in the caramel as you can see but still wonderfully judged in every aspect.

salted caramel & bitter chocolate pot, butter thins  

We washed that lot down with a glass of Plantagenet Ringback Riesling, Great Southern, Australia - a subtle number which is sweet but that's not the first thing that grabs you - the floral component which is subtle and warming, then the sweetness and then something a bit more citrus than your regular German Riesling.  I had an excellent coffee to finish - one of the best I've had in London in ages.

This coffee is a nice way into our conclusion: it was balanced and refined in it's taste - just like everything in the menu we tasted it was finely judged.  It didn't lack for novelty but that doesn't seem to me to be the only goal of this restaurant.  They did the basics very well - extremely well and at a very good price.

With wine it came to £80 each.

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.

Ethos

Quick Review

Ethos

48 Eastcastle St, 

Fitzrovia, 

London 

W1W 8DX

Phone: 020 3581 1538

Website: http://ethosfoods.com

Split the Bill paid an on the spur of the moment visit to the new veggie restaurant just off Oxford street - Ethos.  There are plenty of eateries around this bit of Fitzrovia but this one has a rather different feel.  The decor is whitewashed walls and multi-level tables and chairs, booths and pedestals of food.  The vista is punctuated with a birch wood that has been incorporated into the centre of the space.

Foodwise - it's a rather marvellous buffet of veggie gems all on display at the right temperature and with enticing labels - simply pick up a plate or bowl, load it up and go get it weighed and paid.

SN: The process of choosing is in truth the hardest bit only because of the mouth-watering dishes  before you.  As you spin round the tables you also get scents and sights that you bookmark for return on a subsequent course or indeed day. The meal is entirely your own making.

I loved it and had far too much first time round - and second time round and then had a lovely slice of pecan pie.  I think I spent around £25 - but I ate like a king.

Our Petit Chablis was very reasonable £28 though it needed 20 minutes of breathing to lose its edge

SN: I'd particularly recommend the BBQ "spare ribs" which are actually wheat gluten, the "Scotch eggs" made with aloo coating and perhaps most memorable in joint first place (though I didn't try everything) the Courgette with Feta - which was light and delicate but not lacking taste and the Risotto balls - crispy on the outside and mouth watering on the inside.

LM: The dishes are sensibly arranged in a suggestion of what would pair well together but I largely ignored this in favour of heaping my plate. Particular favourites for me were a beautifully marinated aubergine steak and the aforementioned courgette and feta salad - the quality of the ingredients they use is clear. Sadly I didn't have room for dessert but the selection of cakes, pies and pastries looked appetising. They also have an 'all you can eat' brunch option on weekends with or without booze which I can imagine being great fun (and enough calories for a weekend!)

The real beauty of this concept of course is that it encourages you to try new things - as it happened I didn't enjoy the BBQ seitan ribs but as I only had one it was no loss. The only downside was that on occasion when certain dishes ran out they weren't replaced very quickly so you can end up missing dishes you want to try (or repeat)




We may return sooner than we would to any other venue - not least because although there were queues at 8pm at 6:30 it was easy to get a table.

As long as they continue to use good quality, fresh ingredients it's hard to see how Ethos won't be a roaring success. Get in while they've still got space!

Rabot 1745

Rabot 1745

2 - 4 Bedale Street, 

Borough Market, 

London 

SE1 9AL

020 7378 8226

http://www.hotelchocolat.com/uk/restaurants/locations/rabot-1745

Rabot 1745 sits in that maze of lanes which form Borough Market, not far from London Bridge - indeed as we sat the distant rumble of trains added a cosmopolitan air to proceedings.  It is a restaurant based, or themed if you like, on cacao - roasted on site and in every dish and some of the drinks. Set up by the founders of Hotel Chocolat and based on a Plantation House interior, Its sister restaurant sits on the Rabot plantation in St Lucia.  Chef Jon Bentham takes a light touch with the cacao on various types of dishes including typically English cuisine

There is a bar downstairs which is notably more agricultural in decor than upstairs.  The upstairs has two halves - an open balcony under cover of the market roof and overlooking the market stalls.  The night-time vista is somewhat barren as all the stalls are packed up.  The other half is under a ceiling - sparsely decorated and fresh with repeating patterns of lampshades, wall coverings and some art high on the walls.  The toilets are delineated with a wall made of strips of wood - high quality tessellation - OCD joy

We thought we should dive into the Cacao Gin and Tonic given cacao was everywhere - and very pleasing it was too.  The little bowl of roasted cacao pods on the table gives one a vivid feeling of the provenance of this taste - this is distant, tropical food brought into a very different setting mediated by the authentic decor.  The gin carries the cacao taste beautifully and was perhaps the peerless combination of the night.

LM: Roast fig, soft goat's cheese, walnut-honey-cacao balsamic was a gorgeous starter, light and creamy with enough dressing to balance the large amount of cheese. The cacao was nicely punchy without overwhelming the other flavours - a good start.

SN: My first course (there was no bread - shock horror) was Yorkshire pudding filled with rare seared parkin-spiced beef, white chocolate mash, cacao red wine gravy. This is a sweet/savoury dish which wins especially because the beef (properly rare) is a sweet highlight in the mix.  The spice mix is beautifully subtle and the heft comes from the delicious gravy.  The Yorkshire pudding adds a weight to this dish as does the milky-sweet potato.  It could have been done without either but I'd be reluctant to do without both.

I decided to go light on the wine so we took a favourite grape from a wide ranging and well priced wine list - Gewurtztraminer, Domaine Ostertag Vignoble d'E 2009  a much better match for Louise but a lovely between courses sip for me.  There was a never-ending supply of iced water for the table too.




SN: My main course was a Slow braised cacao glazed lamb shoulder, garlic mash, buttered carrots another stalwart of the British table given the cacao treatment.

Maybe I have a palette that doesn't respond to these things but garlic mash never really hits the heights for me.  This substantial dish was beautifully delivered but lacked something to cut through some of the richness - a red wine would have helped me in retrospect but I think there needs to be something on the very well loaded plate.  The carrots were very nice but hardly a radical offering.  The lamb was very lean and fell apart at the merest glance.  The glazing worked well but this dish missed a counterpoint for me - maybe the garlic was intended to do that - it didn't come through.  So if you have it - order a characterful red wine.





We shared a dish of Roast kohlrabi, onions, almond cream which was delicious

LM: West Indian vegetable curry tasting platter was something seriously special: Sweet potato and cauliflower gobi, spiced lentil dhal, cumin-spiced roast aubergines, cacao-nib rice. The portions were sensible which is where I often fall down on Indian food and the spicing was just right, nice and warming and full of flavour without blowing my head off, The aubergine in particular was fantastic, melt in the mouth tender, and the spikes of cacao in the rice added a different dimension.




SN: If my main course hadn't hit me between the eyes with cacao in every mouthful - the dessert certainly did.  The Rabot 1745 Mousse Collection: Trinidad 68% milk with malt brittle, Saint Lucia 78% dark with toasted nut crumble, Ecuador 90% dark with roasted nibs - to be precise was something of an affirmation for me that the subtle nuances of cacao are many and well worth exploring.  This though a very rich dessert and is best approached after a substantial break I think.  As a fan of very dark chocolate latterly there was nothing here which was overly bitter for me but the Ecuadorian offer my test the limits for some.  The toppings didn't really penetrate the body of the dish and so were fleeting glimpses of taste combinations one might try elsewhere. 

Molten chocolate lava pudding made from the cacao beans here on site, Rabot 1745 ice cream was everything you'd hope it would be. The famous Hotel Chocolat chocolate is every bit as good melted as solid, encased with a light chocolate sponge and a caramel (I think) ice cream - nothing earth shattering but bloody delicious.
 

We finished with Madeira and I also had a Jamaican Brandy which was served with cacao nibs and 74% St Lucia dark chocolate.

Its certainly an enjoyable dining experience at Rabot 1745 but for anyone like me who is not a cacao fanatic I'm not sure I feel the need to rush back.  I certainly commend it as a fascinating place to go and try something different and perhaps importantly have a satisfying meal both in quality and quantity.

LM: There are maybe a couple of small changes they could make - no slimline tonic at the bar was surprising given that they had several gin options, and I would have loved to have seen a complimentary bread basket - it is noticeable when restaurants don't offer it. Nonetheless it's far from gimmicky as one might assume and well worth a visit.

Typing Room

Typing Room

Town Hall Hotel

Patriot Square, London

E2 9NF

reservations@typingroom.com

+44 (0)20 7871 0461

Typing Room opened when Viajante departed in this elegant space in the Town Hall Hotel in East London. The 1910 building housed a Council and this space was the typing room. We went to Viajante twice and it was an extraordinary experience both times with a quiet, concentrated and reverential ambience. Typing Room is different - same walls, different people and dramatically different approach.

To begin where we began: we had cocktails in the adjoining bar, The Peg and Patriot: this bit is much as we left it only with higher tables.  Two vacuum evaporating machines sit against the back wall: there is high tech cocktail making here - delicious to boot, but it's all interspersed with mirth.  A joyful romp through the wonderful punning cocktail names before choosing your conncotion and your away.  We had a cocktail as usual and moved through to the same dining room we'd enjoyed 18 months ago: the atmosphere was very different! 

What hits you is that the room has more energy about it than Viajante - and it has a zest and movement which is more invigorating. There's an eagerness and hunger about the place - and all the staff are imbued with it. 

In this type of restaurant there is something thrilling in the anticipation of new flavour combinations on a tasting menu journey - here at Typing Room it is coupled with determination to do more with a different approach to wine pairings. Make no mistake Typing Room is as great an adventure as any tasting menu we have had but the wines were just as exciting. It was made clear too that the wine pairings were still being explored and we were asked for feedback as we went along - this is living dining. 

It was refreshing to find a veggie tasting menu ready and waiting for Louise with different wines where the dishes diverged.

LM: One of the interesting things about the wine choices were that they were all organic or bio-....? [SN bio - dynamic]- not something I get to try often.

LM: I wonder sometimes whether you can judge a whole meal on the breadboard - generally my favourite dining experiences have started with something unusual and wonderful and, of course, packed with carbohydrates. In this case we were given rosemary brioche and brown bread, soft and clearly fresh out of the oven with a generous smear of marmite butter and a quenelle of a whipped butter with chicken skin. All absolutely glorious - a fantastic mix of textures. I think even a Marmite-hater would have been won over.

LM: My amuse bouche was a profiterole filled with basil and courgette, light as a feather and just large enough to make eating them in one mouthful equally inelegant and satisfying.

SN: My snacks were two corkers - Crispy fish skin, smoked cod, oyster & dill and Chicken skin, parfait, curry & raisin - both mouth watering and devilishly tempting in offering reinforced flavours fleetingly.  We were served Terrassen, Jurtschitsch - Langerlois, Kamptal, Austria 2013 - as you might imagine it's a tad fresher than it's German equivalent and just the thing against the robust tastes in these tasters.

SN: The Celariac, mustard and cobnut dish which was our first dish proper: it was augmented with foie gras for me.  Celeriac is a favourite of mine and with such a delicate but distinctive taste it was nicely off set by the crisp and sweet cobnuts and mustard.  It's been a great year for cobnuts in my neck of the woods and it was nice to find them in a dish like this - the  Horsmonden, Davenport Vinesyards - Rotherfield, East Sussex, 2013 was a very good match for this combination too.  A fine English wine is a rarity in a wine pairing in our experience and this had both an immediate impact and a depth of flavours which drew parallels with the food.  With or without foie gras - this pairing was a fine discovery.




LM: Our next shared dish was yeasted cauliflower with raisins, capers and mint. After our wonderful experience at Ten Bells I was really excited to see what else was going to be done with cauliflower - I've never had it presented and prepared as elegantly as this. Beautiful variety of textures and flavours - I'd happily have had several portions of that and the bread.

SN: this dish grabs the attention and this much abused veg has recently had a good deal of  rehabilitation: but nothing we've had so far matches this.  This dish is a wonder of construction with the soft yeasted cauli base yielding to firmer florets and then the memorable and mouth-watering crisps.  What a triumph and deservedly one of the most talked about aspects of this menu.  Nuno Mendes Globe Artichoke x3 pudding had thrilled us at Viajante three years ago but that was magical, exotic and somehow out of reach.  This cauliflower dish is more surprising because the basic ingredient is so familiar and so routinely plain.  So this dish is at once both homely and exotic: a theatrical triumph!

The wine Castelcerino, Filippi - Soave, Italy 2012 had much to contend with to get any attention - it's elegant, delicate taste wasn't going to be over-powered by our cauli-fest.  It drew contrast with the sweetness of the dish but did not distract from the many wonders of the dish.





LM: Chilled tomato, scorched watermelon and goats curd was another joy to look at - a plate of artfully arranged vegetables and goat curd with a tomato consommé artfully poured over at the table. The mix of tomato and goats cheese is hard to beat at the best of times and the scorched watermelon just added another sweet tone to the mix. The pairing was Cuna de la poesia, Bodegas Leza - Roija 2013



SN: My next delight was Raw beef, smoked beetroot, horseradish and sorrel served with Mauzac Noir, Robert Flagoles - Galliac, France 2012.  This was I think a wine which wasn't quite up to the task - these are strong flavours and a powerful combination and it felt it needed slightly more heft.  The sommelier, who was eager for feedback on his new pairings, agreed and said he had a better option in mind for the future.  It's a delightful earthy wine, but not quite muscular enough.  The beef was succulent and the tiny beetroot were explosive in a way big slices or chunks could never be.  The punchy leaves mustn't be overlooked in your forkful - there's much fun to be had here.




LM: Courgette, pistachio and basil was beautifully light and delicate after some of the earlier courses; almost like a palate cleanser. If I'm honest the wine pairings and cocktail were starting to kick in at that point so my memory is slightly hazy...SN: the pairing was Macon Villages, Comte Lafon, 2011




SN: The Bass, heritage tomato, courgette and squid was delicate too - and beautifully done.  It had unity which one doesn't always associate with fish dishes.  The fish too often sits on the margins as a strong taste that doesn't like company or it is reluctantly subservient to an even stronger ingredient.  This democratic dish didn't try to overwhelm the delicate sea bass.  The squid acting as alighting rod for the fishiness and the accompaniments were just dandy.  The courgette needs rehabilitation too.  Its cooked variations are a busted flush - this dish put it back where it belongs as a source of flavour not a filler. The wine pairing Rizling, Bolfan Rajnski - Zagorje 2011 from Croatia was a beauty




LM: Roast leek, cep, ratte potato and sorrel put me in mind of a more 'grown up' version of a similar dish I had at Ten Bells - smoky and dark tasting all the way through from the charred leeks but with a smooth and rich creamy sauce to cut through it. An absolute joy of a dish - if anything it could have been a little smaller but that is splitting hairs.  SN: the pairing - Les Fensees de Pallus, Domaine de Pallus - Chinon Loire, France 2011



SN: My next dish was Lamb with burnt aubergine, yoghurt and onions - a robust combination which needed something unexpected from the pairing: the Vilosell, Tomàs Cusiné - Costers del Segre 2011 - this is a blend of six grapes grown high up in the hills between Barcelona and Zaragoza.  What an extraordinary balancing act is done here - it has the richness of a fine Bordeaux but an amazing clarity, dark shadows in the taste and a quality I can only describe as poise.  It was perhaps the most dramatic and unexpected mind blowing pairing of the night.  I will certainly return to the wine and savour the memory of burnt aubergine with the finest lamb I've had in a long time.

My next course was a cheese board - a high quality pause in proceedings but reflecting, I'm puzzled that I wasn't offered a glass of something with it.....and even more perplexed as to why I didn't ask for one....



LM join in the party again with this cute citrous curiosity. As palate cleansers go the little dish of concentrated lemon: a meringue on top of a mousse on top of a crumbly sorbet was a pastry-less lemon meringue pie and another a coup de theatre.  



LM: Chocolate, lovage and hazelnut was one of the best desserts I've eaten this year - the chocolate was in the form of a dry brownie which just sucked up the liquid from the ice cream and sauce to become something almost otherworldly in terms of taste - I love (and not just in this dish) what they're doing with flavours, marrying very rich organic herb flavours with more well known tastes.

SN: This was another dish where the texture and taste dramatically exceeded expectations. The brownie (if it had an flour in it at all) just dissolved in the mouth with flush of chocolate without being cloying or overpowering.  The pairing was an exceptional match too: Chaume, Côteaux du Layon, Domaine des Forges - Loire, France 2011

SN:  As the sommlier and I compared notes at the end of the meal, I noticed two dramatically different things about Typing Room - there was much more animated conversation than the last time I'd been in the room - a different style.  That I was in conversation with the sommlier at all is notable too.  The other thing for me was the flare in the menu and it's delivery - it's a stylish approach to food that we've all eaten before.  the combinations excite as do the pairings.  It was a wonderful night and we were glad to say that to Lee Westcott as we snook into the P&P for a last cocktail before departing. To reiterate: a great dining experience Lee and team, thank you very much.