Bite Me!

Rather excitingly, I was taken out for lunch the other week, to the restaurant of the famously fiery-tempered chef Tom Aikens. The interior could be politely described as ‘compact’ (rather like the man himself), but it felt spacious enough once we were seated and enjoying a glass of rather good pink champagne. As well as the tasting and a la carte menus, there was the set lunch menu (which I plumped for), at a bargain £29.

Our meal began with an amuse-bouche of beetroot puree topped with beetroot foam, which was exquisitely presented and packed a real punch of flavour. Aikens has been accused in recent interviews of being overly “fussy”, and certainly it is very hard to describe the starter which followed; it mainly consisted of a sort of jerusalem artichoke pannacotta, with shaved black truffle, foam, and various other bits and pieces which are hard to describe since I couldn’t work out what they were. It all tasted jolly good, though. The main course was a little less complicated – a perfectly cooked piece of sea trout on wilted lettuce, complimented with the ubiquitous foam (parmesan, this time). I was torn between the tempting-looking puddings and cheese, but eventually the lavishly stocked cheese trolley won me over and I spent a happy few minutes deciding what to have, with the aid of a helpfully knowledgeable waiter. This was followed by a palate cleanser of – you guessed it – more foam, this time strawberry flavoured and served in an old-fashioned milk bottle with a straw, a form of presentation which I loved, but which led to some rather undignified noises as I tried to suck out every last drop.

The meal was rounded off by my favourite course, which arrived with the coffee – spoons filled with a variety of different flavoured mousses, small chocolate truffles, paper-thin wafers flavoured with mango and seeds, and warm chocolate, orange, ginger and plain madeleines, which were an absolute delight. I managed three, and then waddled contentedly back to my office, where I proceeded to do absolutely no work whatsoever.