69 Swinton Street
WC1X 9NT
Tel: 020 7812 1842
Date of Last Visit: Wednesday, 14 Feb 2007
The Victim: Howard
The Damage: £80ish for me.
The Background: I had done something to make Howard just the tiniest bit upset with me. He felt unloved and no one should feel like that on Valentine’s Day. So we agreed to meet up for a drink and a show and maybe a meal. I suggested Pizza Express. 🙂
The Approach: After 15 minutes of head-banging at The Water Rat, we wisely decided to head out for some sustenance. It was a little late, so I was thinking a kebab or some chips or maybe a curry or maybe even a little late-night dim sum.
I managed to forget somehow that Howard is a foodie, so we weren’t talking Kebab or duck pancakes.
We were talking five course tasting menu at a restaurant that specializes in environmentally sustainable cuisine and giving back to the community.
£90 with wine. £68 without.
And it was Valentine’s Day, so this wasn’t just any five course tasting menu. We (well, THEY, actually) were talking one dish after another all centered around the big day.
The Crowd: Howard said I seemed obsessed by the fact that all the men had the outside seat and all the women had the bench seat. I purposefully bucked the trend and took the outside seat. Howard made me feel better about being a modern woman by noting he preferred the inside seat.
The : It was nice. The beet soup was really nice–points to Howard for remembering that beets are not my favorite thing. As long as I can’t see the beets, I’m fine. (I feel the same about tomatoes. Like ketchup, hate big slices of raw tomatoes.) The salad was okay. It had quince in it; I’m not sure how I feel about quince. The lobster risotto was like rice with lobster in it, proving to myself once again that risotto is just rice. Until someone proves me wrong. The scallop dish was nice, but just a little bit on the salty side for me.
The Wine: I kept trying to prove to Howard that my wine was colder than his. I finally figured it out the next morning–they served me larger portions of wine because I went by-the-glass. So my wine kept the chill probably a little longer than his. I was really sad because I do love tasting menus with wine. The problem was that it was a Wednesday, and I needed to be very productive the next day.
The Part: The ginger cake! It was fantastic. I do love ginger.
The Verdict: Loved the concept. Thought the was nice and the service was friendly too. I would be open to a return visit.
1 comment
“Risotto is just rice”
You have been unlucky with your risottos – though (travel snob alert) the best risottos I recall (other than home made) were at the Gritti Palace, Venice (prawns) and at Jardine, Cape Town (lobster and smoked tomato).
I’m struggling to remember a great London restaurant risotto.
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