Kitchen Table 2*, Charlotte Street, The Smoke (blud).
Long time readers of this thread will remember that the GLDHI and I have been following James Knappett and his wife, Sandia since long before he got his first star. We went back to celebrate me having sold the last company I ran after 6 months of hell with shareholders who all wanted different outcomes, a difficult buyer, and their lawyers from hell. Still, everyone eventually signed on the dotted line, and were equally unhappy so all's well...
Bubbledogs has now been taken away from the front room of Kitchen Table. That space is now a bar - in an attempt to land him a third star. The bar is very well done, but possibly rather too masculine in look and feel to appeal to all.
The food was, as ever, truly outstanding, though has now increased in price to £250pp. For that, you get 21 courses...
OYSTER
Oyster – orchard apple – salted gooseberry – jalapeno – oyster leaf
CHICKEN
Chicken skin – rosemary mascarpone – bacon jam
QUAIL
Quail egg – potato – black garlic – truffle balsamic – shallot – chervil
CELERIAC, TURNIP, KOHLRABI
Celeriac – pickles – meadowsweet honey; Tokyo Turnip – blackcurrant leaf – marigold; Kohlrabi – ponzu – fennel pollen – orange
PARKERHOUSE
Parkerhouse – cultured butter – wild garlic preserves – Maldon
CUCUMBER
Cucumber – estate dairy cream – dill – Exmoor caviar – borage – cucumber flowers
MACKEREL
BBQ mackerel – rhubarb – blue meat radish – seaweed – dashi – yoghurt – fennel oil – spruce
LOBSTER
Lobster – lobster sauce – courgette – coral oil – Meyer lemon
TROUT
Trout – foie gras – onion – spring onion – thyme – sherry vinegar – chives – trout roe
TRUFFLE
Australian black truffle & squash pasta – Scottish girolles – 36-month Parmesan sauce – black garlic – chestnut
POTATO
Jersey Royals – roast chicken sauce – smoked cream – extra virgin olive oil – Exmoor caviar
PIGEON
Squab pigeon – rose – liquorice – beetroot – burnt cream
BEEF
125-day aged Jersey beef – smoked bone marrow – beef steak mushroom – aubergine
BARON BIGOD
Baron Bigod – onion tart – white truffle maple – cobnuts
BEETROOT
Beetroot – sour cream – woodruff
BLACKBERRY
Blackberry – nori buttermilk – blackberry leaf – corn flowers – sorrel and shiso granita
FIG
Black fig – fig leaf – milk ice cream – black pepper meringue – charcoal
CEP
Cep macaron – 70% chocolate ganache
FUDGE
Fudge – sea salt – caramelised white chocolate
CANELE
Canelé – damson cheese
RASPBERRY TART
Raspberry – mascarpone – honey – bee pollen – croustade
James has the very good habit of listing and talking about his suppliers. We get our meat from his butcher and fish from his fishmonger - both are exceptional.
Sandia has built an astonishing collection of small grower champagnes - the best I've seen in London, including an exceptional still champagne (blanc de blanc). Mark-ups are in the 2x - range.
A solid 10/10 - for an occasional blow-out.
Long time readers of this thread will remember that the GLDHI and I have been following James Knappett and his wife, Sandia since long before he got his first star. We went back to celebrate me having sold the last company I ran after 6 months of hell with shareholders who all wanted different outcomes, a difficult buyer, and their lawyers from hell. Still, everyone eventually signed on the dotted line, and were equally unhappy so all's well...
Bubbledogs has now been taken away from the front room of Kitchen Table. That space is now a bar - in an attempt to land him a third star. The bar is very well done, but possibly rather too masculine in look and feel to appeal to all.
The food was, as ever, truly outstanding, though has now increased in price to £250pp. For that, you get 21 courses...
OYSTER
Oyster – orchard apple – salted gooseberry – jalapeno – oyster leaf
CHICKEN
Chicken skin – rosemary mascarpone – bacon jam
QUAIL
Quail egg – potato – black garlic – truffle balsamic – shallot – chervil
CELERIAC, TURNIP, KOHLRABI
Celeriac – pickles – meadowsweet honey; Tokyo Turnip – blackcurrant leaf – marigold; Kohlrabi – ponzu – fennel pollen – orange
PARKERHOUSE
Parkerhouse – cultured butter – wild garlic preserves – Maldon
CUCUMBER
Cucumber – estate dairy cream – dill – Exmoor caviar – borage – cucumber flowers
MACKEREL
BBQ mackerel – rhubarb – blue meat radish – seaweed – dashi – yoghurt – fennel oil – spruce
LOBSTER
Lobster – lobster sauce – courgette – coral oil – Meyer lemon
TROUT
Trout – foie gras – onion – spring onion – thyme – sherry vinegar – chives – trout roe
TRUFFLE
Australian black truffle & squash pasta – Scottish girolles – 36-month Parmesan sauce – black garlic – chestnut
POTATO
Jersey Royals – roast chicken sauce – smoked cream – extra virgin olive oil – Exmoor caviar
PIGEON
Squab pigeon – rose – liquorice – beetroot – burnt cream
BEEF
125-day aged Jersey beef – smoked bone marrow – beef steak mushroom – aubergine
BARON BIGOD
Baron Bigod – onion tart – white truffle maple – cobnuts
BEETROOT
Beetroot – sour cream – woodruff
BLACKBERRY
Blackberry – nori buttermilk – blackberry leaf – corn flowers – sorrel and shiso granita
FIG
Black fig – fig leaf – milk ice cream – black pepper meringue – charcoal
CEP
Cep macaron – 70% chocolate ganache
FUDGE
Fudge – sea salt – caramelised white chocolate
CANELE
Canelé – damson cheese
RASPBERRY TART
Raspberry – mascarpone – honey – bee pollen – croustade
James has the very good habit of listing and talking about his suppliers. We get our meat from his butcher and fish from his fishmonger - both are exceptional.
Sandia has built an astonishing collection of small grower champagnes - the best I've seen in London, including an exceptional still champagne (blanc de blanc). Mark-ups are in the 2x - range.
A solid 10/10 - for an occasional blow-out.
