TASTEMAKER: 5 London Restaurants I’ve Loved Lately
This is Tastemaker, a monthly round-up of the best places I’ve eaten at recently. This time: deep-fried olives, a second order of my burger of the year, plus a series of loo selfies…
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CLIPSTONE, FITZROVIA
I might have a new favourite London restaurant. It’s Clipstone, a colourful, cookbook-filled gem that’s occupied a lovely corner of Fitzrovia for almost 10 years. It’s run by the same team as the excellent Quality Chop House and 64 Goodge Street, so had been on my radar for a while, but when my PR pal Alice posted an Instagram story of a silver dish of deep-fried olives, I knew I had to go. And funnily enough, when I posted a similar snap last week following a lovely lunch there, I got the same flurry of drooling emojis and demands to know whether they were as good as they looked. I can attest that they were better (the olives themselves are filled with anchovies and chilli) and the perfect accompaniment to a glass of fino sherry.
Next, snacks of fried brioche topped with beef tartare and parmesan tasted like a burger where beef is the star of the show, a Devon crab risotto was wonderfully silky and punchy, the bowl of tagliatelle with venison and sausage ragu was better than some of the pasta I’ve had in Milan this week, and a breaded pork loin with peppercorn sauce and a fried egg – split between two – was all the right things: crisp, fatty, melt-in-the-mouth. To top it off, the service was relaxed and fun, even in a room largely full of business lunches, and I loved the branded plates. I wish I’d made it here years ago.
CARBONE, MAYFAIR
At the end of June, I was one of a handful of lucky UK restaurant writers who got the chance to head over to New York for a long weekend of feasting with the chefs and team behind Carbone in Greenwich Village. The purpose of the trip was to acquaint ourselves with the NYC hotspot before its London offshoot opened in September. What we didn’t expect was that we’d have two exceptional meals in the A-list magnet: the first a Saturday night dinner at Al Pacino’s regular table; a second time when the restaurant was closed to the public, as each of us had face time with Mario Carbone for various interviews. Both occasions were special, as burgundy tuxedoed ‘captains’ danced around the atmospheric restaurant (its design ethos takes all the best references from Goodfellas and The Godfather), mixing caesar salads tableside and, the moment we sat down, offering a round of ‘emergency martinis’.
But to London! The group’s largest to date, the restaurant sits within the former American Embassy on Grosvenor Square. Topped with a flamboyant gold eagle sculpture, the Portland stone building glows after a refresh. Inside, the art, look and feel of this super-sized Carbone has not just been cut and pasted from the original. Huge-format artworks by Ai Weiwei and Angel Otero feature on the opulently decorated walls of its many dining rooms and bars (I love the many-faced mural that leads diners downstairs). And the food is fun and as large in format as its A2 paper menu: our table ate mountains of Mario’s famed spicy rigatoni, the complementary breadbasket was a work of art, and the off-menu meatballs were the same flavour bombs I had in New York (and so good, a vegetarian around the table ate one after witnessing everyone else’s reactions). Yes, it’s expensive and the overstated glamour won’t be for everyone. But I had a great time – and left with a very chic doggy bag of leftovers that would have comfortably fed a family of five.
CINDER, ST JOHN’S WOOD
I rarely make it up to north London, as it can be a colossal pain in the arse to get to from Brighton. But I will make an exception for Cinder in St John’s Wood, following a cracking lunch there last month. It’s the second restaurant by Jake Finn, who also has a spot in Belsize Park. In a beautifully understated space that makes a feature of smatterings of original tiles, Jake and his team are quietly serving up some of the best dishes I’ve tried in London this year. Kicking things off with a spicy marg (here made with blitzed, charcoal-grilled jalapenos), the table groaned with dishes that seemed straightforward until you tasted them. House focaccia came with a side of umami-packed whipped parmesan butter, spicy crab doughnuts had a prawn glaze and topping of incredibly moreish chilli nut crunch, a monkfish tail was served with a wonderful peppercorn sauce… which was just the thing to be mopped up by the brilliant triple-cooked potatoes tossed in black lime salt. Each dish had a punch of flavour – be that spice, citrus, salt, heat – that impressed. And I haven’t mentioned the doughnuts with BBQ banoffee sauce – or the fantastic wine list. Cinder is special. You should go.
THE PARK, BAYSWATER
I interviewed the great restaurateur Jeremy King for this piece on the return of decadent dining last month and his musings made me hanker for another visit to The Park. (Side note: I cannot wait for his reiteration of Simpsons-in-the-Strand to open early next year…) On a big glossy corner opposite Hyde Park, this is a wonderful spot for a long lunch, the kind of place where the martini glasses can easily pile up. For a start, the restaurant itself is lovely: enormous windows let the light stream in, and there are art-deco nods everywhere, from the lighting and artworks to the gorgeous wood panelling and booths (the winding wooden staircase is a marvel too). Then the food is uncomplicated, unfussy and unhurried – I’ve loved everything from New Orleans crab cakes to a chicken pot pie and a grilled cheese sandwich. But really, it’s the warm service and joy of seeing suited-and-booted Jeremy gliding through the dining room that makes a meal here sing. Just remember, a loo mirror selfie in the opulent bathroom is what seals the experience.
DOVE, NOTTING HILL
This month I returned to Jackson Boxer’s Dove for another of his now-famous, off-menu burgers. Originally Orasay, Jackson transformed his Notting Hill spot into Dove back in January. I’ve always loved Jackson’s cooking (I chose Brunswick House as the last meal I had before that first lockdown of 2020), but what he and his team are doing here feels very him – beautiful ingredients and refined plating, but all served in a relaxed, undone way. Picture homemade ricotta dumplings swimming in lobster cream, topped with lime leaf; a delicious tumble of whipped fava beans with braised greens and a chilli-laden Szechuan crumb; and an amazing take on one of my favourite restaurant puds – flourless chocolate cake with crème fraîche, here served with a wonderfully sticky coffee molasses.
Dove’s not-so-secret burger has become the reason to book an early table. They’re made using off-cuts of 50-day-aged rib cap, brisket and chuck from top butcher HG Walter that are double-minced with suet. The burger’s topped with a lyonnaise of white onions, slow-cooked for six hours in caramelised butter and champagne, plus a nice wedge of gorgonzola, all inside a bun toasted in aged beef fat. Only ten are made each service. It’s not just the scarcity driving demand for them. I promise this burger is more than worth the hype. You can taste the care that’s gone into each one, perfectly blushing in the middle, with the blue cheese empowering not overpowering. I think I’ve just written myself into a 6pm table in January. I can’t imagine a better way to kick away any post-Christmas blues.
Coming soon on Crisp Packet: December’s edition of The Multipack, great books to read over the Christmas break, plus an excellent hack for making next-level roast potatoes…
We live in Saint John’s Wood and completely agree on Cinder! A secret gem for sure.