Patterson’s, Regent Street: 11th of May, 2009

I have wanted to try Patterson’s for some time. It’s a restaurant I’ve heard good things about, and it certainly fits the bill for some decent modern cuisine in London – a mixture of British and European. If you get such a combination right these days, you’re ‘well in’, as they say. This evening was also fairly hastily arranged, because I was supposed to be seeing Morrissey but the gig had been cancelled. I hoped Patterson’s could help to make up for the disappointment. Things started badly, because just about every bus route coming into south central London seemed to be on diversion or stopped short of its destination on the 11th. We arrived about 40 minutes late, grumbling and fed up, but the staff didn’t mind. They were friendly and gracious from the start of the evening, which certainly helps when you’re huffing and puffing on your way into an eatery.

We were seated next to the lobster tank, which meant some spectator sports for the evening. However, I’m not sure lobster wrestling is entirely humane. (And it got boring ever so soon…) Décor-wise, Patterson’s is more or less the standard that most modern restaurants are at: inoffensive, clean, simple and comfortable. All that’s left to talk about is the food, and I really do want to talk about this food.

Starters of an exceptional piece of squab breast (even though I don’t like leeks, which it came with) and a glorious rich venison roulade kicked things off at a brilliant standard. Both dishes were expertly formed and weren’t overwhelming or overbearing. You can’t technically get better than this with starters, which is always good. As usual, I was expecting main courses to fall below the impeccable standard of the meal so far, but lo and behold..! As devotees may recall, I tried a pork belly dish during the Galvin At Windows meal (see here) which fell way below expectations. I can safely say that the (similar) pork belly with scallops at Patterson’s is light years ahead of it. Using the same amazing cut of meat, but instead of over-saucing it and adding too many lentils and some miniature clams, Patterson’s have hit the spot with this one. Juicy scallops on top, and on the side you’ve got carrot purée plus a tian (like a layered cake) of potato with black pudding and apple. Oh, and some onion confit with the meat too: superb. Also good (though not quite in the same league of fawning) was the saddle of lamb. Fatty, meaty and hearty, it’s just about what you want, but the curried milk jelly and the provençale layered veg were a tad overcomplicated. Nice potatoes with it though. Decent desserts too: a searing and sharp lemon tart with lime sorbet and orange zest sauce sucked the moisture from my cheeks before flooding them with bold taste and a real eye-opening zing. The white chocolate bavarois was very nice, but they didn’t mention the base contained nuts, which put me off.

Having read enough about it and noticed it more than once, I’m really glad I went to Patterson’s. In fact, if you like any sort of British / Modern European cuisine, you will be too.

Patterson's Restaurant