28-50 Marylebone. You know you want to.

Posted by Nicky Richmond on September 3, 2012 in ★★★☆☆, food | 1 Comment

Heritage. It’s the new organic isn’t it? Really, I don’t think it’s possible to order a non-heritage tomato in Central London anymore. This isn’t just any tomato, it’s an heritage tomato. Purleese. What did we do before? I’m bored with it now.

And as if it wasn’t enough it’s spreading to other vegetables.

Today, I had “heritage” carrots in 4 different colours.

This dish was described as heritage carrots with pickled kohlrabi. Carrots, ranging in colour from your bog-standard orange to a rich deep purple, which could easily be mistaken for beetroot, on a bed of yogurt. £6.75. Or you could have had a larger plate for £12.95. And they all tasted like carrots. In a good way. Sweet and intense.

A little mention for the bread and butter. Good tasty bread – rye, I think. And proper salted butter. Asked if we wanted more it was hard to say no.

The carrots were followed by a dish of grey mullet, confit white beans, artichokes and artichoke broth. Grey mullet. Grey.  I don’t really want to eat anything with the word grey in it to be honest, negative connotations – dull, bland etc., and I nearly didn’t order it. I sometimes wonder whether it’s one of those fish that need a makeover, like the Patagonian toothfish.

The toothfish. What an ugly fish that is. Does what it says on the tin. Have a look. But call it Chilean sea bass and suddenly it doesn’t seem so bad.

And I’m not sure what was confit about the beans, to be honest, but they were delicious as was the whole dish and for £15.95, good value. The fish was fried and presented simply, on a bed of fresh artichoke in a creamy broth and on top of the white beans. The beans had the right degree of bite and worked well. The flavours were balanced and the fish properly cooked.

There is a selection of salads and soups both available in small and large sizes, from £6.25 to £12.95. There are also sharing plates at £11.95 to £15.50 and there are main courses from £12.50 to £15.95. Added to that,  there is a grill section, with rib-eye, sirloin, onglet and chicken spatchcock and a burger option at £11.95.

None of those come with any sides – minor quibble – the burger should come with chips –  has one ever been eaten without? Not by me.

And the chips. Carbicide central. Crisp, enormous and (I think) fried in goose fat . Your arteries won’t thank you, but your stomach will.
And dessert? Classics such as lemon tart, chocolate tart and fresh fruit salad. So far, so simple. From £4.50 to £5.95.

An it’s a shame that we weren’t drinking because that’s really a lot of the point of this place given that you can get all of their wines by the glass, in three sizes. And the selection is very varied, both in the sense of variety and also price. It’s a great concept. Check out the list on their website.

And although it isn’t strictly relevant to anything, I love the decor here. Slightly Shoreditch, I took a picture of the loo, to copy in my own house.  I’ll spare you.

My only concern is that this wasn’t full.  In fact, it was only a third full. Please go. If only for me.  I’d hate to see it disappear and it deserves to succeed.