Corrigan's Mayfair

I must confess I didn’t have the best experience when I first tried Corrigan’s Restaurant. Having already eaten at Bentley’s and Lindsay House (Richard Corrigan’s previous one Michelin starred restaurant which now houses Gauthier Soho), I had expected better. But lots of positive comments since have convinced me that perhaps that experience could have been an anomaly. Anyway, things were set right last week when I went to try the spice menu at Corrigan’s which is available until 29 January 2012.

Arum Kapil from the spice company Green Saffron kicked off proceedings by providing us with a short cooking demo in the kitchen and a fantastically informative talk on spices. Arum advocates using fresh spices at all times and buying in small quantities so that they remain as fresh as possible. His love and enthusiasm for fresh spices was extremely compelling. That and all the wonderful aromas we got to smell during the demo now mean all I want to do is cook Indian food!

Arun & Richard

The Corrigan’s spice menu is available at the bar, and diners can choose 3 dishes for £25, 5 dishes for £35, 7 dishes for £45 and 9 dishes for £55. We started off with Vietnamese oysters which were absolutely divine. As one would expect from a master seller of oysters (think Corrigan’s oyster bar at Bentley’s), the oysters were luscious. And the dressing, with its aromatic hints of ginger, chilli and crunchy deep fried shallots made the dish amazing.

Vietnamese oysters

A Cornish crab salad was resoundingly sweet and tasty. The use of cardamom and rosewater provided a lovely, fresh contrast to the crab.

Cornish crab salad

“Lord Lurgan’s” broth with a chicken oyster, bhuna spices and coriander was a touch too salty, but prawns served with spiced chickpeas (the chickpeas being a signature side dish from the Lindsay House days) were wonderfully fragrant.

Prawns with spiced chickpeas

Roasted lobster was sweet, if a little soft in texture. It came with an appetising sauce made with lots of lovely ingredients such as lemongrass, coconut milk, ginger, chilli, garlic and saffron.

Roasted lobster

A crisped grey mullet with a panko and parmesan crumb topping, muhammara (a red pepper dip) and romesco relish was lovely. Made with lots of flavoursome peppers, the muhammara packed a rich, punchy flavour.

Crisped grey mullet

A dish of hot crispy frog’s legs with garlic and spinach was wonderful. The meat was juicy and tender, and the batter was wonderfully crispy with a hint of spice.

Crispy frog’s legs

Hardwick mutton Rogan josh was very tender. The sauce was well spiced, rich and creamy.

Hardwick mutton Rogan josh

A kebab a la Turk consisted of lamb and livers. The lamb was extremely tender if a little bland. The livers were very strong in flavour.

Kebab a la Turk

To desserts, and the chocolate soufflé with cinnamon was to die-for. I loved, loved, loved the rich, chocolate-y gooeyness of this expertly made soufflé. The sweetness was well judged and the mixture was not too egg-y.

Chocolate soufflé

A warm spiced cake with slivers of grapefruit and lemon curd was also fantastic. The spices in the cake gave off hues of wintry warmness. The crust on the cake was also super crunchy which added a wonderful texture to the cake.

Warm spiced cake

I found the spiced ice-cream a bit of an oddity and too powerfully spiced with its use of ingredients such as cinnamon, clove, liquorice, 5-spice and star anise. But despite this, this was truly a wonderful meal.

I still think that the a la carte menu at Corrigan’s is pricey. But this spice menu is a pretty good deal. Nine dishes are satisfying enough for two people and this only costs £55. And those Vietnamese oysters – I would eat those again and again any day.

Website: http://www.corrigansmayfair.com/index.htm

Indian restaurant Namaste Kitchen is from the team behind Salaam Namaste in Bloomsbury and Sabir Karim who previously worked at Chutney Mary and Red Fort. Based in Camden, Namaste Kitchen boasts an inviting and modern look. The main point of focus in the restaurant is its modern Indian grill. Its open layout allows diners to watch the chefs at work as well as lap up the lovely warmth that it emits, a feature that was particularly inviting on a cold winter’s night. To complete its cosy feel, Namaste Kitchen plays host to a blend of exposed brick walls, American walnut veneers and cream leather seats.

We kicked of our meal with a spicy soft shell crab (£5.95) coated with a crunchy semolina batter. The crab was yummy, if a touch oily. Accompanying the crab was a sweet fig and prune sauce which worked well with the crab.

Spicy soft shell crab

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Every time I have gone past Manson Restaurant on a Friday or Saturday night it always seems to be heaving with people. And with good reason. Perched on Fulham Road in Parsons Green, it has a ‘neighbourhood’ feel to it with the exterior exuding a certain charm and warmth which makes it hard to ignore.

The interior of the restaurant is just as pleasing on the eye. There is a separate bar area and lots of wooden touches throughout the restaurant to round of its cosy appeal. Stopping by for a Sunday lunch, I was pleasantly surprised the quality of the British cooking. A dainty looking dish of caraway cured sea trout (£7) was lovely. The tanginess in the side of pickled cabbage worked well with the fish, and the use of dill added a lovely fragrance to the dish.

Cured sea trout

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Delfina is a restaurant I discovered while on route to Zucca and Jose, all three of which are on Bermondsey Street near London Bridge. It has an inviting contemporary look to it – lots of white space – and its high ceilings can be attributed to the fact that it is housed in what was once a converted chocolate factory. The building is now used for exhibitions and the like, and the restaurant opens for lunch from Monday to Friday, and for dinner on a Friday night.

On the Friday evening of our visit we tried seared scallops (£7.50) which disappointed. The scallop had started to go bad with an unpleasant taste to them. Furthermore, they weren’t really scallops (plural), but one scallop cut into two. The accompanying saffron cauliflower was also a touch underdone.

Scallops

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This year I was again asked by the nice people at TopTable to come up with a list of my top restaurants for 2011. However, this year’s list posed a dilemma. Rather than a list of top ten restaurants as was the case for 2010, I was only permitted to table a list of my top five! With so many great dining options in London, how does one whittle down to a list of only five best eats?

I can assure you, only with great difficulty. But I tried my best. Reliving some great memories along the way, here are the restaurants that I have come up with which you can read about below, or on TopTable.

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