Richard Corrigan is the Irish-born brains behind two of London's most coveted restaurants in recent times; Lindsay House and Bentley's Oyster Bar And Grill. I sampled the latter just over a year ago and was horrified at their set menu; more and more I feel as if it was an off day, though I've not yet braved a return there. Lindsay House was an 11-year long Michelin-starred gem in Romily Street in Soho (I hear), but Corrigan then moved to Mayfair in 2008, taking Lindsay House's guestbook and his name with him.
Moving to Mayfair, the west end or west London is a big step. Moving from Soho to Mayfair is akin to buying a new house five minutes from your existing place because the area has become a bit grubby and a family you don't like the look of has moved in three doors down. It's almost going against the current back-to-the-roots, food-from-the-market trend Britain is apparently supposed to be on. However, whilst you can take the restaurant into Mayfair, you can't take co. Meath out of the lad from Ireland.
What you need to know about Richard Corrigan is that he is respected in London. Whilst I've not seen it, he's given tremendous credit for re-introducing London to the oyster bar after his work at Bentley's. He's worked at a variety of places in London which began with a stint down in Fulham in the mid-nineties, and from then until Lindsay House closed down, he'd held that one Michelin star. The great thing about being a one-star chef – and believe me, I am saying this in the most sincere and respectful sense – is that everyone won't feel compelled to call you overrated and you'll still be able to attract the vast majority of the restaurant-going public. One-star is the way forward. (Okay, perhaps that last bit was tongue-in-cheek.)
Corrigan's Mayfair does not (yet) have one star. I think it probably will have in a few months, which brings me nicely to business: it's lovely. As I mentioned, Richard Corrigan is a no-nonsense seasonal British man. In Mayfair, that is a rare commodity. It's a stone's throw from Le Gavroche, down the road from Claridge's and within shouting distance of half a dozen other fine modern European eateries. Still, I defy you to find a better upmarket weekend roast than the one you can get on the Sunday set menu at Corrigan's.
We started things in a simplistic and stylish manner befitting the restaurant: a couple of oysters (left). These babies were every bit the genuine article: big, fresh, impressive. As I have touched on before, one oyster is enough for me and these two served as a great start to our meal.
On to more substantial matters, the country terrine we chose as one of our starters was just as it should be: feisty liver flavours reigned in by a slight and desirable roughness. Fig and date chutney on the side complimented it perfectly. More impressive and substantial were some crubeens (right). Served with crunchy pickled carrots, creamy horseradish and smooth ham, they were a huge success. Not dissimilar to the ones we tried at Launceston Place a few months earlier, these were smaller and slightly more understated. Nothing lost though: they were just lovely.
We were determined to get us a fair bit of Sunday lunchtime meat for our main courses, so we plumped for the rib of beef which, whilst incurring a £10 supplement, was quite the correct choice (left). Carved at the table (and as rare as we had asked for), served with a traditional (and perfect) Yorkshire pudding and a generous dollop of horseradish cream, this was seriously fine roast beef on a Sunday. Tender, juicy, intensely meaty and well supported.
The Elwy Valley lamb we went for was not as impressive, but presented impeccably (right). Dressed with greens and liberally accompanied with broad beans and peas, the meat was spot on (rare enough) and a slightly lighter alternative to the butch beef. Two slices of a rack and juicy as anything, this worked perfectly as a second dish. My only criticism of the mains was the slightly underwhelming nature of the side dishes: potatoes that are little dry do precisely nothing for me and the green beans weren't up to much. Lovely carrots though.
Desserts were as down to earth and richly fulfilling as the rest of the meal had been. If you serve something as simple as a chocolate brownie in a decent restaurant, it must be a fantastic brownie or have some sort of inventive twist. This had shades of the former and much of the latter: sour cherry ice cream proved to be an unlikely winner of an accompaniment.
More in-season and on the money was a delicious rhubarb parfait (left). Served with vanilla ice cream which was soft enough not to overwhelm the dish and some strawberries for appearances, it was just what I needed after such a meaty and filling first couple of courses. Rhubarb desserts in spring and summer are what make seasonal desserts worthwhile.
I can't really say much more about Corrigan's Mayfair: it is a surprisingly down to earth restaurant of the moment in a glorious area usually famed for upmarket French food. As I intimated earlier, I will be surprised if we don't see a Michelin star here next year. Three courses for less than £30 of this quality is nothing to be sniffed at and everything to be applauded. I'll be back here for sure.
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