How condiment crazy Londoners are going straight to the sauce

London is feeling saucy, says Samuel Fishwick
Saucy: Marmite butter at Plot

London is feeling saucy. Not content with the traditional stable of condiments, a succession of restaurants have rolled out sauces to give your average line-up of table- toppers a run for their money.

At Charlotte’s Bistro in Chiswick, head chef Michal Snela has created an oyster mayonnaise, served with a mackerel tartare and a giant seaweed cracker. “When you read the dish on the menu it sounds a little strange, but you have to eat it to understand it,” says Snela.

While it’s fairly simple to make by blending egg whites, an oyster and its juice, then slowly adding olive oil to make the emulsion, it’s a dish best served cold — all ingredients must be cooled to prevent the mayo splitting.

Charlotte’s is not the only one stirring the sauce pot. Plot, a new Tooting market restaurant serving the “best of British”, is dishing up a marmite butter and curry mayonnaise served with bread and croquettes respectively.

At Berber & Q in Hackney, co-founders Josh Katz and Mattia Bianchi have a pomegranate barbecue sauce for marinating pork belly, which is then smoked on a bed of hot coals. It’s a way to add a dense hit of flavour without overwhelming the dish.

In Soho, Japanese hotspot Yamagoya mixes up a delectable yuzu hollandaise, while neighbouring hot dog and champagne joint Bubbledogs boasts a selection of maple butter, sriracha or truffle mayos to go with your foot-long. That’s a hot mess we can all get on board with.

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