Boundary, Shoreditch

 
Boundary
2-4 Boundary Street
E2 7DD

Date of Last Visit: Monday, July 5, 2010

The Victims: Too many to mention.

The Damage: Unknown. Denis paid.

The Background: You know, I really don't like going out on Monday nights. Or Sunday night. This is my time. My time! But then again…I can be persuaded with fine wine and the prospect of a relatively decent meal. As long as it's close to home. So it was that I came to Boundary on a Monday evening in early July.

The Entrance: I'm a little worried as we enter Boundary. Because it's in a basement. Who wants to eat in a basement? But that being said, the bar is cozy and stylish and my immediate impression is positive so I hold off on further judgment. (The stairs, however, need work. Not sure how I feel about the artwork.)

This positive impression continues as we enter the dining room. Even though we are technically in a basement, the architects have been clever with lighting and along one side of the room, there are skylights out onto the street. So you're not totally in the dark. Along the other side of the room, there's the full kitchen on display, brightly lit up and thus, again, distracting you from the fact that you are, after all, dining in the cellar.

Boundary is mostly French. With a bit of English thrown in for good measure. (I really should have photographed the Yorkshire pudding.) The manager appears to be very French indeed and he and Denis consult on the menu and the wine list at length. Thank God for Denis because although my French meat vocabulary is quite good, I fail at vegetables. I am considering the Squid with Espelette peppers, but first I ask Denis to translate espelette.

 
The Starters: Torben orders the seafood platter to start. This, I must note, is the "petit plateau" for £25.00 for one. Does this look petit to you? He makes a good dent in it, but gives up and passes the rest to the rest of the table. Some of the mussels were closed, but then, July doesn't have an R in it, does it? It would have been good if someone had warned us about how big this was going to be.

 
I really liked my squid. It's a very generous portion–a good value for £9.50. And the dressing–a balsamic reduction of sorts–adds a nice bit of tartness to everything.

 
My main of rabbit, sprinkled with broad beans, is another generous portion. It's dense and rich and pretty meaty for rabbit. I am–pun intended–a happy bunny. I have ordered well, but I give partial credit to the very excellent manager who took my order and guided me through the menu choices. (Then again, that same manager let Torben order the seafood platter AND a main. That's a lot of food. Poor Torben's eyes were rollling back in his head by the time we got out of there.)

 
Then came an order of six madeleines and creme fraiche. Too many for one person! We split this amongst three people, which was a good idea at the time, but once I had polished off my first one, I had to wonder why I had given away the four. These were amazingly good. Unexpectedly good. Soft. Moist. Was there a hint of lemon in there? Yum.

The Service: Really some of the best I've had. One of my colleagues had lost his voice earlier in the day, and the staff happily whipped him up his own little pot of chamomile tea with honey and lemon and then refilled it throughout the meal.

The Verdict: A pleasant surprise. I'm sure it was pricey so I don't know if it will be at the top of my list of places to return to, but if invited again, I would go again. Huge portions. Tasty food. Great service. The American in me approves.