Fay Maschler's restaurants of 2012

It has been a year of eating dangerously, says our critic
1/4
19 December 2012

Who we are. Where we live. What we do: the 2011 census revealed that Islington is the most densely populated part of the country, with 13,873 people per square kilometre. A report in this paper helpfully equated this to 140 people on a rugby pitch. Picture those folk all rushing off at the same time to have a meal in the same restaurant and that sort of illustrates the theory that intense population fosters a booming catering trade.

Restaurant openings in 2012 certainly bear this out and neatly, Islington, which always seemed bound in restaurant chains, saw some fascinating debuts — although we had to wait until near the end of the year. Restaurants summarised below are in the order in which they were reviewed.

Burger & Lobster, from the creators of Goodman steak houses, may have relied on the seemingly universal appeal of the fatty patty inside a soft bun but customers were chiefly beguiled by a whole Canadian lobster weighing about a kilo, steamed or grilled or slicked into lobster roll for £20 including fries and a slightly evil salad. The alacrity with which large branches opened in Soho and Smithfield in sites that were previously Bistro du Vin has somewhat diluted the initial impact.

On (quite) good authority I am told that all chefs believe that I invested money in Dabbous, to which I gave a rare five-star review. Please guys, give me credit for being more Machiavellian than that. Ollie Dabbous has the sort of talent that passion, hard graft and sensory imagination feed and when he opened his own place near where I live I could not have been happier — even though I now cannot get a booking. He is one of the chefs who give rise to talk of a London version of bistronomie.

Sometimes a working partnership seems unusually ideally balanced. That is my impression of chef Cameron Emirali and manager Luke Wilson at 10 Greek Street. Emirali, previously chef at the estimable Wapping Food, is agile and inventive in response to seasonal food and Wilson, necessarily deft in a tight space, illuminates the cooking with his wine choices at sometimes almost giveaway prices. I only wish bookings were taken evenings as well as at lunchtimes.

Life seems not a fairytale in Putin’s Russia but Mari Vanna spins a convincing frilly fantasy about the gracious over-furnished St Petersburg home of a warm-hearted babushka (who has lots of pretty nieces) giving succour to weary travellers — but in London at a price. Drink vodka, eat dumplings, roister and reminisce. There is nowhere else like it in town.

Chris and Jeremy’s Big Expansion continued in the summer with the launch of Brasserie Zedel with its lavish marble and gilded interior allied to stupendously low prices — especially the formules — for French-inspired food. An evening I relish is watching cabaret at The Crazy Coqs — so far Clive Rowe and Steve Tormé (Mel’s son) — and then crossing the hall for supper. Customer appreciation has enabled prices to be held steady. Truly affordable glamour.

Feta tempura with lemon marmalade and caper meringue gives a clue that the Greek food at Mazi is viewed with a modern, evolved eye. Chefs from Mykonos and Athens demonstrate that there is a lot more to the cooking than the Greek-Cypriot catalogue usually encountered. Greek wines — the speciality of the French owner — are another revelation. What was, ironically enough, the much-loved Costa’s Grill has been converted in light-hearted style.

This kind of article requires “of the year” judgments. Peruvian is definitely the fashionable fusion cuisine of the year as evidenced by Ceviche in Soho, SushiSamba in the City, Coya in Piccadilly and Lima on the fringe of Fitzrovia. Virgilio Martinez, proprietor of Restaurante Central in Lima, brings his skills honed all over the world to oversee Lima’s kitchen. The beauty of the dishes, the feeling for colour, the worship of potatoes are all important elements. As are heavenly pisco sours.

“Junk re-imagined” is how I described the offer at Rita’s Bar & Dining in an effort to avoid the phrase “dude food”, but when the brains and hands behind the scene belong to Jackson Boxer and Gabriel Pryce it doesn’t matter how items such as macaroni cheese, fish tacos, Patty Melt, Southern-fried chicken and soy and ginger wings are labelled — they are about as good as they get. Frozen Margaritas and the amiability and patience of the front-of-house are other genial aspects.

James Knappett and his wife Sandia Chang first opened Bubbledogs, where hot dogs meet grower champagnes, and then on the same site Kitchen Table. Beyond a chef’s table, it is more a customer’s ringside seat in a culinary operating theatre. Knappett, once head chef at Marcus Wareing, crafts a menu of about a dozen small dishes depending on what has been foraged, found or even bought that day. Some ideas are shaky, some superb. The strongest dynamic is between customer and chef — a total gift to bloggers.

The Gladwin brothers, Richard, Oliver and Gregory, who grew up at Nutbourne Vineyards in West Sussex, have brought exuberance and “Nutty” méthode champenoise to The Shed, the Notting Hill site that since time began, or anyway Noah’s flood, was The Ark. Staff and customers alike seem to have escaped from the Boden catalogue (to make room for Helena Christensen) and there is a fresh-faced enthusiasm and wholesomeness that glows like a good deed in a world of dirty burgers. The cooking is accomplished, the mood sweet, noise almost unbearable.

Diego Jacquet is a chef name that has cropped up in the past in connection with a couple of hotels but his Argentinian soul is being allowed free expression at the wine bar with ambitions, Zoilo off Wigmore Street. In the basement, seating at the kitchen counter allows close study of how crisp crumb, flaky pastry layers and thrumming chimichurri enclose various ingredients to their advantage. Rib-eye steaks invoke the Pampas. Dulce de leche works its magic in desserts and pastries. And of course there are Malbec wines.

Densely populated Islington is currently home to chef Ben Spalding at John Salt. His astonishing energy and creativity fuel a mezzanine restaurant, ground floor bar food and delectable Sunday roast lunches. Whether or not he and his staff laugh behind their hands when customers lick caramel-coated house bricks is open to debate. He is undeniably serious about rewriting the notion of gastronomy and pushing culinary boundaries.

Alan Yau, of Wagamama, Hakkasan, Yauatcha, Busaba Eathai, Cha Cha Moon and Princi fame, chose the Angel Building in Islington to launch his new concept Naamyaa Café. Thai dishes including the eponymous kanon jim rice noodles served with spicy sauces and various accessories are the basis of a menu, which also welcomes backpackers and interlopers such as burgers and salade Nicoise. Buddhist serenity entering the hearts of some of the staff and providing elements of the décor is another distinguishing factor.

Nick “Zeitgeist” Jones having added Chicken Shop and Dirty Burger to Pizza East in Kentish Town invited Brendan Sodikoff, the man behind Au Cheval in Chicago, to inject Electric Diner with American sassiness, sauces and size. The double cheeseburger defeats most human jaws but comes with the reputation of being the best in America. “Strong Drinks” and 10 draught beers stiffen the drinks list. Can we now agree that this has been the year of the burger — eaten medium rare if you want — and move on?

FAY'S FAVES

Burger & Lobster 29 Clarges Street, W1 (020 7409 1699) £38.

Dabbous 39 Whitfield Street, W1 (020 7323 1544) £65.

10 Greek Street 10 Greek Street, W1 (020 7734 4677) £40.

Mari Vanna 116 Knightsbridge, SW1 (010 7225 3122) £75.

Brasserie Zedel 20 Sherwood Street, W1 (020 7734 4888) £35.

Mazi 12-14 Hillgate Street, W8 (020 7229 3794) £65.

Lima 31 Rathbone Place, W1 (020 3002 2640) £60

Rita’s Bar & Dining 33-35 Stoke Newington Road, N16 (missy@ritasbaranddining.com) £25.

Kitchen Table 70 Charlotte Street, W1 (020 7637 7770) £95.

The Shed 122 Palace Gardens Terrace, W8 (020 7229 4024) £45.

Zoilo 9 Duke Street, W1 (020 7486 9699) £45.

Ben Spalding at John Salt 131 Upper Street, N1 (020 7704 8955) £50-£130.

Naamyaa Angel Building, 407 St John Street, EC1 (020 3122 0988) £36.

Electric Diner 191 Portobello Road, W11 (020 7908 9696) £44.

*Prices estimate a meal including wine and service for one.

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