The Clerkenwell Dining Rooms, Clerkenwell: 28th of May, 2009

I’ve not spent much time in Clerkenwell, and that seems like a mistake, given how it’s a wonderful, transitional balance between the trendy east end and the safe west end: perfect for a timid adventurer such as I. The dining rooms themselves are a fairly modern, somewhat predictable set of shop fronts on St. John Street. Once inside, the space itself is quite trendy and comfortable. It certainly looks like somewhere you’d want to spend money on food. I attended here with six other people, some of whom I knew and some I didn’t. Definitely the sort of evening that could have gone either way from the outset. The atmosphere inside was buzzing and friendly. The music was too loud and pretty rubbish, which annoyed me, but the place was quite kicky and comfortable.

With a group of seven, we could’ve pretty much eaten the card but two pairs of friends ordered the Cote de Boef, which meant only two dishes were being eaten between four of us. (I have a strange aversion to people ordering the same thing as someone else at the table.) Still, I resisted and did the usual sharing job with my other half. Starters of the seemingly ever-present standard (glory be!) chicken liver parfait and field mushrooms on a polenta cake were quite superb. The former doing exactly what you’d expect and the latter being a combination of one huge mushroom on a crisped polenta pastry-style tart base, covered in a variety of smaller funghi. Add to this the variety of other dishes doing the rounds: a daring pimento frittata is something I wouldn’t order, but certainly enjoyed trying. Terrine of squid and red mullet was juicy and understated. Curry-spiced scallops were surprisingly great. Starters out of the way and we were all very happy.

Main courses were less varied and extravagant, but still did the job. The two steaks to share were properly cooked, cut and served. They came with some rather splendid hand-cut chips, which are a rarity these days. These were solid, fluffy, slightly crisp and (most importantly) not undercooked at all. Too many chip portions in restaurants these days are underdone, and this is always a real downer. The buttery hollandaise that came with them was passable and complimented it all well enough. The fish of the day was a gorgeous piece of salmon that was insulted by the addition of aubergine caviar and that most useless of accompaniments; couscous. The two stand-out dishes were the chicken and the lamb. They sound simple enough, but the chicken was a coquelet (baby chicken) in a creamy sauce, with shavings of parmesan, gnocchi and some light vegetables. This is an interesting and very highly recommended dish. If I could make a sauce this rich, I’d be doling it out in bowls for those queuing outside the job centre. Until this evening, I had no idea that beetroot was good for anything. (Some misguided souls might tell you that it’s great in salad.) In fact, beetroot is great when it’s used as the base for jus with lamb. Bravo Clerkenwell Dining Rooms. The lamb (both rump and confit ravioli) was really good, although bafflingly served on a bed of chicory (this can often backfire, I’ve found) and a few very tart anchovies. The meat and jus was great, but it’s a shame the ill-chosen dressings partly overwhelmed it.

We (shockingly) didn’t have dessert. There wasn’t much to interest us there, and we’d eaten about all we could. (Two of the group even took food away with them.) We got petit fours, which were nice enough – good, rich and bitter truffles and some miniature cookies that unfortunately had nuts in them. The meal here was pretty decent. Some excellent dishes, some average, but none to upset the stomach or to complain about. Worth a try in what’s becoming an ever-so-hip place to hang about in London.

The Clerkenwell