Oh, joy of joys. Our national economic strife has reached as far as the second best restaurant in the
The lunch time menu Hibiscus offered was three courses plus a glass of champagne for £30: very reasonable, given the hype and the apparent quality of the place. It was obviously piquing the interest of a few people, because a friend and I each took a day off work to be there.
Four of us in total dined on the fateful Friday. And we were seriously excited. We quickly noticed that the set menu was a little limited (expected, naturally), but there were a few crackers on offer. We more or less ate anything non-vegetarian that was available, and incurred a good few supplementary costs because of it.
As one might’ve expected, the steak as a main course added a tenner to the menu, and the cheese for dessert another few pounds (I hate how deceptive fixed-price menus can be). However, one well-trodden path of complaint about set menus – that they are too restrictive – was not so much a problem for me on this day. Somewhere like Hibiscus should be allowed to flourish and revel in their product at will, as long as it is of sufficient quality.
To cut to the chase a little, the meal was excellent. It had all the ingredients of a classic outing, similar to La Trompette a couple of months back. I was impressed with dishes I assumed I’d like, wowed by unknown quantities, and stunned by something I didn’t think I’d enjoy at all.
Our pre-starter was a velouté of buckwheat atop a North African spiced mixture served in an eggshell. It sounds bizarre, but the taste made up for the pomposity. Starters were a terrine of foie gras and duck which was more or less what you expect, but the langoustine and scallop ravioli was an utter delight. Distinctly buttery and rich, which is not something one can often say about seafood, the dressing and form of the dish (right) was perfect.
To coin an old cliché, main courses went from the sublime (some of the most perfectly cooked beef I’ve ever eaten) to the ridiculous (lamb with cheese and cous cous.) The lamb belly was an interesting one, in that I’ve not eaten belly lamb before, and I would certainly never choose to eat it with the couscous and cream cheese sides it was served with (left). However, giving a bit of leeway to the creative side, I enjoyed with little fuss. The meat in particular was excellent. The steak was just wonderful, and ranting on about perfect beef seems superfluous. Just look at the photo (below right) and you’ll see what I mean. Served with crisp chips and some hay butter (fancy béarnaise), I would dearly love to try it again.
Dessert was a bizarre one. They had run out of the lemon tart (which all of us wanted to try), so it was either cheese or an iced coconut parfait. Now I’m always up for trying new things, but the idea of a coconut-based dessert was really pushing it. I cannot stand the stuff, and the fact that it came with rose water sorbet and lychees helped nothing. However, since I’m no cheese expert, I thought I’d give it a go. And wouldn’t you know; it was lovely. Harsh icicles of the parfait segued to a smooth and refreshing taste, topped off with the perfumed juice of the accompaniments. Plus it looked snazzy as anything (below left).
I cannot recommend Hibiscus highly enough. The only drawbacks were not being able to have the steak rare – I was informed “pink” was how it was done and they clearly weren’t going to change that – and the slightly stilted atmosphere of the place, although I guess that comes with the territory.
I will be back to Hibiscus. The set menu is around £70 and it looks like a worthwhile venture. The décor is wonderful modern chic, the wine is apparently pretty good (my friends ordered a half-bottle of the cheapest red on offer and were pleased) and most importantly, the food is amazing. Particularly with the lunch time offer on the go at the moment, it’s worth a try.
