Hibiscus

Ate here last night. Stupendous. Bold, delicious and satisfyingly seasonal. These were gutsy, pungent combinations of flavours which surprised and delighted in equal measure. Above all, every dish worked as a combination of flavours - taken separately, scallop, hazelnuts, pink grapefruit jelly and pork pie sauce don't work. Together, each shuffles over a little in the line up to create a perfect ensemble. Ingredients were fantastic and their cooking immaculate. This is not cuisine for the faint hearted however. I saw several dishes returned to the kitchen from neighbouring tables and my own companion couldn't stomach her saddle of hare with fondant onion and coffee, young leek, chestnuts and black truffles. Me, I thought it was the most satisfying dish i'd eaten this year. That's until I laid into the chocolate tart with Indonesian basil ice cream and star anise tuile.

An observation and two criticisms. Menu descriptions don't do justice to this kind of cooking - the pleasure is in the dish as a whole, not in the list of ingredients. There was no mention of the restricted menu when we booked. In December there's only a tasting menu - choose how many courses you want and take pot luck. This makes for a slightly anxious dining experience and can be a little hit and miss. It would have been nice to know what we were in for. Service was a bit slow. Surprising given the numbers of staff, the restricted menu and the small dining room.

If you like an adventurous, unpredictable edge to your food, this is definitely worth a try.
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Rosyrose
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Sunday, December 05, 2010

Just enjoyed a phenomenal lunch at this restaurant.

Wonderfully bonkers (amuse-bouche of hibiscus soda topped with pineapple foam) with an exceptionally high standard of food. The bread and butter are worth the trip alone! The mutton and fois gras terrine was out of this world. Roast partridge for the main was perfectly cooked and served - the dash of smoked butter was a wonderful touch, and the fig pudding was something else. I cannot find one fault with the whole experience - and it was an expereince.

Excellent value too by going off the set lunch menu, a 2* Michelin lunch of 3 courses plus an amuse-bouche and petit fours for 2 people with change from £100. Brilliant!
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JR
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, October 19, 2010