Alimentum
special offer
Special Offer only available online - please book above
2 courses for £14.50
Offer Details: ...3 courses £17.50 from a set menu. Includes vat, excludes service.
Available: Monday 17:00 to 22:00
Maximum people: 10
Terms: Expires 22nd July 08
our comments
Located a short walk from the station, itself just forty-five minutes from Kings Cross, Alimentum is housed in a brand new building. All around is undergoing development so while the area looks a bit tatty now, in a few years it should be very desirable. The interior is clearly looking forward to that day, with classy décor that gets the right balance between modern and formal and for once I can’t see any of those ubiquitous high backed brown leather chairs. The black and red colours scheme, the low voltage lights, the cool and compact bar area all work seamlessly to create a high-end restaurant with a bit of a Hoxton feel innit.
Andrew Sinclair the chef, not the novelist who was an Oxford man anyway doncha know, has got the food here just right with a menu that really has you doing the ‘I’ll have the xxx, no the xx, oh well maybe the xx after all” thing. This is good; far better to be spoilt for choice than settling for less. His presentation on the plate is unfussy but has all the little swirls, dots and commas of purees and reduced juices that really please the eye. Wines come by the bottle and glass, and also by the carafe of 25cl, although I regard that as a large glass myself.
A raviolo tightly packed with oxtail pretty much set out Alimentum’s stall. This is unpretentious meat that foodies know is one of the best, here it sat on solid supports of sautéed mushrooms, bone marrow and oxtail jus. The sort of thing you might find at Arbutus, or the Westerly, and the mark of a kitchen that is focussed on flavour. A deceptively simple salad of red chicory and watercress, chestnuts, apple and Beenleigh Blue mixed crunch with velvet in an assured way, the bitter chicory swaggeringly mixing it up with the sweet apple and the tangy cheese.
Braised pork belly, parsnip, shallot, spiced pork sauce was again a dish that only a confident and assured restaurant can pull off. The belly was almost certainly cooked sous-vide so it arrived perfectly formed and shreddy tender. The shallot, the banana type, was large and a bit OTT for me but everything else was spot on. The parsnips, which came in their own mini-marmite, were honey glazed and without a touch of woodiness. Perfect for the job, as was shredded cabbage almost raw which is the best way to cook cabbage as far as I’m concerned.
Beef bourguignon was a single piece of very tender beef on a bed of creamy mash and perfectly cooked green beans, mixed together with flavour-packed baby onions and woodland smoky pancetta. Once again, substance was all while fine style the icing on the cake.
Talking of cake apple tart tatin was okay, not quite as gooey as I normally like it but the cinnamon ice cream was a smooth touch of class. Mocha Panacotta, chocolate biscotti and rum was a ’bit too chocolaty’ the eater said, but otherwise pretty and perfect to finish. For an almost brand new restaurant Alimentum has the style and panache of somewhere much more established. The lunch set menu is a steal at the price and overall deserves to be the success it’s aiming at.
Nick Harman - November 2007
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