[Food] Restaurant 2019 Thread

Goldstone1976 said:

Des Jacques 2013.

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Goldstone1976 said:

Pique Nique SE1 (Bermondsey/Southwark borders)

If I said this is a French bistro, I’d be underselling it so badly, so, this is a FRENCH bistro.

It’s the second restaurant of Herve Durochat, the owner of the much praised Casse Croute, located just around the corner, which I found meh.

This is located in what can best be described as a pavilion in the corner of the local park, just behind the municipal tennis courts (which were this evening being used by 20-something city girls with pony tails - not that I noticed).

My dinner companion was an Italian friend (the host of the “you touch?” location [MENTION=31]El Presidente[/MENTION] [MENTION=249]edna krabappel[/MENTION], which made for interesting conversation).

Anyway, this place could not be more French if it were Knockaert mated with de Gaulle.

Half a dozen starters - we had the cuttlefish “linguine” (which meant “cuttlefish cut into long strips. What, did you expect pasta? F*ck off, this is a FRENCH place”) and a chicken and wild mushroom vol au vent - both were in a cream and butter sauce of the type your heart surgeon would cry at. Served with a baguette between us to soak up the sauce.

Mains are 3 a la carte dishes, plus 4 specials, each for 2 people - chateaubriand, whole sea bass wellington, veal chop, poulet de Bresse. We went for the chateaubriand - 8 inches of whole fillet cooked somewhere just North of bleu, rested for ages and carved into 8 roundels (£60. £60?? That much fillet costs more than that from my butcher, FFS), served on (basically raw - did I tell you this is a FRENCH place?) - spinach, with a red wine reduction, and sublime pomme dauphinois. To which we added a side of (just perfect) French fries ( as you would too if you’d seen them). Followed by a green salad with a punchy, oily, salty dressing.

Drinks wise - lillet rose, 1/2 bottle of Condrieu, plus a bottle of red. The red was a cause celebre:

Me: anything off list?
Waiter: two - A and B
Me: Hmm. And... C??
Waiter: Hmm. I av une bouteiile of an exceptionel Morgon. You may av zis if you can tell me the grape variety (you f*cking rosboeuf)

It really was an exceptional Morgon.

If you want a FRENCH meal in the UK, I av eaten nowhere better. £200 for two, including all alcohol, tip and fine for clipping the arrogant waiter round the ear.

Just brilliant.

Stealing shamelessly from the FT: as Rick almost says to Ilsa, we’ll always have Bermondsey.

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Goldstone1976 said:

Des Jacques 2013.

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El Presidente said:

Loved his Debut Album.

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Guinness Boy said:

Food wise that sounds incredible and right up my street. The Mrs would be in to it as well. Sometimes French really is unbeatable. You can keep your Gamay though, it's always tasted of bananas to me, though that's possibly because I've drunk the wrong ones.

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Guinness Boy said:

Food wise that sounds incredible and right up my street. The Mrs would be in to it as well. Sometimes French really is unbeatable. You can keep your Gamay though, it's always tasted of bananas to me, though that's possibly because I've drunk the wrong ones.

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Machiavelli said:

Thanks, while I've got you on such things, two questions:
-- do you buy much from BBR and, if yes, anything you've had of late you'd recommend (I'm probably going to put an order in, and am looking for a few extra bottles)
-- you mentioned that you knew a few Loire Cab Franc producers that you could recommend. I'm planning that trip over the next month or so, so any further views welcome

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Goldstone1976 said:

Pique Nique SE1 (Bermondsey/Southwark borders)

If I said this is a French bistro, I’d be underselling it so badly, so, this is a FRENCH bistro.

It’s the second restaurant of Herve Durochat, the owner of the much praised Casse Croute, located just around the corner, which I found meh.

This is located in what can best be described as a pavilion in the corner of the local park, just behind the municipal tennis courts (which were this evening being used by 20-something city girls with pony tails - not that I noticed).

My dinner companion was an Italian friend (the host of the “you touch?” location [MENTION=31]El Presidente[/MENTION] [MENTION=249]edna krabappel[/MENTION], which made for interesting conversation).

Anyway, this place could not be more French if it were Knockaert mated with de Gaulle.

Half a dozen starters - we had the cuttlefish “linguine” (which meant “cuttlefish cut into long strips. What, did you expect pasta? F*ck off, this is a FRENCH place”) and a chicken and wild mushroom vol au vent - both were in a cream and butter sauce of the type your heart surgeon would cry at. Served with a baguette between us to soak up the sauce.

Mains are 3 a la carte dishes, plus 4 specials, each for 2 people - chateaubriand, whole sea bass wellington, veal chop, poulet de Bresse. We went for the chateaubriand - 8 inches of whole fillet cooked somewhere just North of bleu, rested for ages and carved into 8 roundels (£60. £60?? That much fillet costs more than that from my butcher, FFS), served on (basically raw - did I tell you this is a FRENCH place?) - spinach, with a red wine reduction, and sublime pomme dauphinois. To which we added a side of (just perfect) French fries ( as you would too if you’d seen them). Followed by a green salad with a punchy, oily, salty dressing.

Drinks wise - lillet rose, 1/2 bottle of Condrieu, plus a bottle of red. The red was a cause celebre:

Me: anything off list?
Waiter: two - A and B
Me: Hmm. And... C??
Waiter: Hmm. I av une bouteiile of an exceptionel Morgon. You may av zis if you can tell me the grape variety (you f*cking rosboeuf)

It really was an exceptional Morgon.

If you want a FRENCH meal in the UK, I av eaten nowhere better. £200 for two, including all alcohol, tip and fine for clipping the arrogant waiter round the ear.

Just brilliant.

Stealing shamelessly from the FT: as Rick almost says to Ilsa, we’ll always have Bermondsey.

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Goldstone1976 said:

Kitchen Table, W1 - 2 Stars.

James Knappett (chef) trained at, inter alia, Noma and Per Se - an astonishing apprenticeship. His wife, Sandia - recently delivered of their first baby, Shay, runs front of house and is the sommelier with a speciality for tiny Champagne Houses - she must have 300 bins now.

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Goldstone1976 said:

Kitchen Table, W1 - 2 Stars.

There are few better things in life than having the good fortune to follow a chef as s/he forges their career, fewer still to see them elevated to the very top echelons of their industry. It goes without saying that you have to be interested in food for this exercise to be of interest, but I figure that if you're reading this deep into this thread you are either at least pretty interested in food (praise be), or occasionally come on here to take the piss (f*ck you).

One caveat before we get going - this review contains descriptions that are amongst the foodiest, gratuitously detailed/pompous of any I have written. I do so because the chef is just that type of bloke.

The GLDHI (reviews passim) and I have eaten at Kitchen Table since 2012 when it opened. They got their first star in 2014 and their second last year. They're on their way to three. James Knappett (chef) trained at, inter alia, Noma and Per Se - an astonishing apprenticeship. His wife, Sandia - recently delivered of their first baby, Shay, runs front of house and is the sommelier with a speciality for tiny Champagne Houses - she must have 300 bins now.

The restaurant is located behind Bubbledogs, which is a hotdog and champange joint, the brainchild of Sandia. When I say "behind", I mean you walk through bubbledogs and push through a plush curtain to enter the space. Once inside, you are confronted with the finishing kitchen right in front of you. I don't mean "on display" or "there, behind that little window which you won't be able to see through, Sir". I mean - you are basically walking into the kitchen. Arranged on three sides of the rectangular kitchen are high, wide counters. This is where the punters sit. There are only 20 seats - organised into a staggered sitting time; 10 starting at 6pm, 10 starting at 7:30. Covers are not turned.

I'm getting ahead of myself. I'd booked for the 6pm sitting and got to Bubbledogs at 5pm to crack open a bottle of bubbly as I waited for the GLDHI who was at a meeting and wouldn't arrive until just before 6. On arrival, the greeter for bubbledogs disappeared through the curtain and reappeared with James, who bounded towards me and gleefully asked me "What do you think of what we've done with the place I really like the new wall lamps though of course its Sandias creativity which is primarily responsible anyway it's really good to see you again you havent been since Oct (when the second star was awarded) have you Ive got some really special things in today when is the gldhi due to arrive itll be really good to see her before service I see you have already got a drink (picking up bottle) oh did you pick that trust you to pick that one Sandia will be so pleased thats her favourite"

The lack of punctuation is deliberate.

This exchange demonstrates two things: 1) James is an exuberant, bubbly man and, unlike the miserable f*cker Sat Baines who I reported on in an earlier missive, is delighted to spend time with his customers, and 2) James is organised enough and friendly enough to come out to greet me, and spend 15 minutes hanging around for the GLDHI to arrive, 25 minutes before service. A 2 star chef spending 15 minutes with a customer 25 minutes before service? Just wow.

Returning to the narrative, we go through the curtain and are shown to the corner of the counter. The corner where it abuts the back wall of the kitchen, right beside the salamander and the charcoal pit - right beside where James spends most of his time when he's not at the pass (which is a central table in the middle of the kitchen). Cooking, there are James, plus three chefs. They do everything right in front of you.

There are two set menus a 12-course for £150 and a 14-course for £195*. Well, I say 14. It was actually 20. Each course is focused around one core ingredient (which is the descriptor of the dish). BUT - and this is where sniggerers need to look away - each dish has between 4 and 6 additional ingredients that have been impeccably chosen, put through unbelievably complex technical processes and built into a look, texture and flavour little miracle. Just one example of ingredients: James wanted "something caper-like" as an accompaniment for a dish but felt that capers were "far too boring". His solution? To use some tiny grapes from his vine (at his home in London) from last year that he'd salted and then pickled "just in case they'd come in useful".

This shows what type of cook he is. He forages. He goes on extensive trips to suppliers to choose ingredients (did you know there was a caviar farm using sturgeon in Exmoor?). He explores ways of preserving things from one year to the next, just to see if they might come in useful ("No, I never make these things with a specific dish in mind - how could I? The menu changes every day").

Hang on. The menu changes every day? Yes - to get the best of what's available. Let's say he turns over only 25% of his days on a daily basis. That's 5 new dishes - every day - 6 days a week. Bloody Hell.

His attention to detail is astounding - precision in ingredient selection, technique, presentation. The man is obsessive. He also notices stuff in the ambience of the kitchen. There's music playing over a sound system. It goes off. Two minutes later, (not so much) sotto voce, "Where's the music? F*cking fix it now".

So - kind, gregarious, supremely talented, focused, driven. Everything you'd want from a superstar chef.

You want the actual menu? Why - it'll be different when you go. Oh ok then:

Oyster
Ham
Quail
Chicken
Parkerhouse
Squid
Sea Trout
Scallop
Seabass
Asparagus
Lobster
Lamb
Beef
Chilcote
Beetroot
Cambridge Cream
Rhubarb
Canele
Fudge
Crepe

Wine pairing, bottle of pre-meal champagne, home made digestifs.

"Favourite dish?" I ask the GLDHI. "God, I don't know, they're all utterly breathtaking".

She's not wrong, you know.

* Blimey, that's expensive, you're thinking? You have seen that ingredient list, right? You have taken on board that this is the amongst the very best cooking in the Country, right?

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Goldstone1976 said:

Kitchen Table, W1 - 2 Stars.

There are few better things in life than having the good fortune to follow a chef as s/he forges their career, fewer still to see them elevated to the very top echelons of their industry. It goes without saying that you have to be interested in food for this exercise to be of interest, but I figure that if you're reading this deep into this thread you are either at least pretty interested in food (praise be), or occasionally come on here to take the piss (f*ck you).

One caveat before we get going - this review contains descriptions that are amongst the foodiest, gratuitously detailed/pompous of any I have written. I do so because the chef is just that type of bloke.

The GLDHI (reviews passim) and I have eaten at Kitchen Table since 2012 when it opened. They got their first star in 2014 and their second last year. They're on their way to three. James Knappett (chef) trained at, inter alia, Noma and Per Se - an astonishing apprenticeship. His wife, Sandia - recently delivered of their first baby, Shay, runs front of house and is the sommelier with a speciality for tiny Champagne Houses - she must have 300 bins now.

The restaurant is located behind Bubbledogs, which is a hotdog and champange joint, the brainchild of Sandia. When I say "behind", I mean you walk through bubbledogs and push through a plush curtain to enter the space. Once inside, you are confronted with the finishing kitchen right in front of you. I don't mean "on display" or "there, behind that little window which you won't be able to see through, Sir". I mean - you are basically walking into the kitchen. Arranged on three sides of the rectangular kitchen are high, wide counters. This is where the punters sit. There are only 20 seats - organised into a staggered sitting time; 10 starting at 6pm, 10 starting at 7:30. Covers are not turned.

I'm getting ahead of myself. I'd booked for the 6pm sitting and got to Bubbledogs at 5pm to crack open a bottle of bubbly as I waited for the GLDHI who was at a meeting and wouldn't arrive until just before 6. On arrival, the greeter for bubbledogs disappeared through the curtain and reappeared with James, who bounded towards me and gleefully asked me "What do you think of what we've done with the place I really like the new wall lamps though of course its Sandias creativity which is primarily responsible anyway it's really good to see you again you havent been since Oct (when the second star was awarded) have you Ive got some really special things in today when is the gldhi due to arrive itll be really good to see her before service I see you have already got a drink (picking up bottle) oh did you pick that trust you to pick that one Sandia will be so pleased thats her favourite"

The lack of punctuation is deliberate.

This exchange demonstrates two things: 1) James is an exuberant, bubbly man and, unlike the miserable f*cker Sat Baines who I reported on in an earlier missive, is delighted to spend time with his customers, and 2) James is organised enough and friendly enough to come out to greet me, and spend 15 minutes hanging around for the GLDHI to arrive, 25 minutes before service. A 2 star chef spending 15 minutes with a customer 25 minutes before service? Just wow.

Returning to the narrative, we go through the curtain and are shown to the corner of the counter. The corner where it abuts the back wall of the kitchen, right beside the salamander and the charcoal pit - right beside where James spends most of his time when he's not at the pass (which is a central table in the middle of the kitchen). Cooking, there are James, plus three chefs. They do everything right in front of you.

There are two set menus a 12-course for £150 and a 14-course for £195*. Well, I say 14. It was actually 20. Each course is focused around one core ingredient (which is the descriptor of the dish). BUT - and this is where sniggerers need to look away - each dish has between 4 and 6 additional ingredients that have been impeccably chosen, put through unbelievably complex technical processes and built into a look, texture and flavour little miracle. Just one example of ingredients: James wanted "something caper-like" as an accompaniment for a dish but felt that capers were "far too boring". His solution? To use some tiny grapes from his vine (at his home in London) from last year that he'd salted and then pickled "just in case they'd come in useful".

This shows what type of cook he is. He forages. He goes on extensive trips to suppliers to choose ingredients (did you know there was a caviar farm using sturgeon in Exmoor?). He explores ways of preserving things from one year to the next, just to see if they might come in useful ("No, I never make these things with a specific dish in mind - how could I? The menu changes every day").

Hang on. The menu changes every day? Yes - to get the best of what's available. Let's say he turns over only 25% of his days on a daily basis. That's 5 new dishes - every day - 6 days a week. Bloody Hell.

His attention to detail is astounding - precision in ingredient selection, technique, presentation. The man is obsessive. He also notices stuff in the ambience of the kitchen. There's music playing over a sound system. It goes off. Two minutes later, (not so much) sotto voce, "Where's the music? F*cking fix it now".

So - kind, gregarious, supremely talented, focused, driven. Everything you'd want from a superstar chef.

You want the actual menu? Why - it'll be different when you go. Oh ok then:

Oyster
Ham
Quail
Chicken
Parkerhouse
Squid
Sea Trout
Scallop
Seabass
Asparagus
Lobster
Lamb
Beef
Chilcote
Beetroot
Cambridge Cream
Rhubarb
Canele
Fudge
Crepe

Wine pairing, bottle of pre-meal champagne, home made digestifs.

"Favourite dish?" I ask the GLDHI. "God, I don't know, they're all utterly breathtaking".

She's not wrong, you know.

* Blimey, that's expensive, you're thinking? You have seen that ingredient list, right? You have taken on board that this is the amongst the very best cooking in the Country, right?

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Machiavelli said:

Excellent. Thanks for this, a welcome respite from reading about some Potter guy. You're making me feel a bit dafter for not taking up your tip earlier. Glad you enjoyed it. For the uninitiated, what are parkerhouse, chilcote and canele?

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Machiavelli said:

Excellent. Thanks for this, a welcome respite from reading about some Potter guy. You're making me feel a bit dafter for not taking up your tip earlier. Glad you enjoyed it. For the uninitiated, what are parkerhouse, chilcote and canele?

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Goldstone1976 said:

Canele (de Bordeaux)

View attachment 109948

ParkerHouse

View attachment 109949

This actually simply further illustrates the quality of the cooking. Not one image on Google adequately captures, or even comes close to capturing, the sheer beauty of that bread. The image above is the best, but they are uneven and, crucially, have been baked in a tin. Kitchen Table’s were dead even, baked on an open sheet, and all a perfect glistening colour. You know that bread you imagine coming out of an aga owned by your grandmother? That, but real. Oh, and served with whipped butter (which had been hand churned in the restaurant), which you further mixed with a touch of beef lard, house-made balsamic vinegar, salt, and chive and tarragon leaves...

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