A blossoming experience in E1

10 April 2012

This review was first published in July 2000

In Japan, young poets and artists make a big deal out of cherry blossom time. They drink too much and sit among the trees dashing off haiku about the transitory nature of life as represented by the inevitable fall of the blossom. One afternoon all is beauty, the next morning the petals are on the ground. Quite so. What would they make of the road optimistically named Blossom Street?

At first glance it seems rather long on street and short on blossom, but this quiet residential backwater in the hinterland to the north of Liverpool Street Station has recently acquired a smart new restaurant. Targeted at City money, it has a garden that's still being landscaped, as well as some pretty adept cooking.

1 Blossom Street occupies a large, airy basement beneath some flats. It may seem strange to describe a basement as airy, but this one qualifies by combining a blonde-wood floor with widely spaced tables, a high ceiling and bright yellow walls. The waiting staff are eager and the place already has a buzz to it. Andrew Barber is the head chef and his menu is a cunning one, with some notable high spots.

There are plenty of reassuringly familiar ingredients - chicken, Aberdeen Angus beef, salmon, red mullet, sea bass, lamb - nothing to frighten the less adventurous City folk. But the dishes themselves manage to surprise. For a start, they are presented in an elegant fashion that only just saves itself from the curse of 'fussy'. Furthermore, there always seems to be something a little out of the ordinary about each dish. This something may not always work but innovation should always be encouraged.

Writing menus is a very tough part of a head chef's duties. They are in as bad a fix as any theatre impresario - an unrelenting programme of the 1812, Strauss waltz nights and Ravel's Bolero will put bums on seats but the musicians may die of boredom as a consequence. Barber has done a good job of walking the menu tightrope stretched between comfortable and inventive.

Starters, such as Scottish langoustine braised with artichoke, carrots, spring onions and chervil butter (£6.25), are simple and subtle. Lambs' sweetbread fritters with sunflower sprouts, coriander and mint pesto (£4.75) doesn't work quite so well, as transforming sweetbreads into rissoles blunts their flavours, but the dish is redeemed by a very good dressed salad (no sign of the advertised sunflower sprouts, though).

Main courses are well flavoured and pretty on the plate. A herb-crusted loin of lamb comes with a tasty cake of toasted cous cous and a sweet and sour jus (£14); ordering chargilled salmon bouchons with basil-crushed Jersey Royals and tomato fondant (£12.75) brings accurately cooked fish and tasty green mash. Or perhaps pan-roasted red mullet fillets with a Puy lentil salad and bouillabaisse sauce appeals? Puds are serious. Ultimate raspberry shortcake with basil syrup (£6.25) is ultimate enough for most, while the roasted fig with goat's cheese ice-cream (£5.25) is a good combination of flavours.

It is early days for 1 Blossom Street. They will soon have tables in the secluded garden (weather and landscapers permitting) which will certainly be popular. But the dining-room downstairs already has a crisp and efficient feel to it, and the cooking will please most of the people most of the time. We may well see this restaurant blossom.

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