Friday Fun for Five - Patterson's: Mayfair, Friday April 1st, 2011

Having splurged a little too much during London Restaurant Week, I felt it was time to cut back on some of the more fanciful spending early 2011 had yielded. Unfortunately, as ever, temptation called and we found ourselves back at a table by the following Friday.

"50% off food from the a la carte" has to be one of the best sentences in the English language. It's such a pure, generous and meaningful offer from a restaurant. There's nothing more frustrating than getting a set menu when there are other dishes on the a la carte you'd prefer to eat. So, on this April Fools' Day, Mike, the other half, two other friends and I indulged ourselves silly at Patterson's thanks to their generosity and Toptable's efficiency.

Five around a table on a warm Friday evening is essentially perfect. Conversation flows, jokes are shared and life looks grand. Especially when you're getting half off your bill at the end of the evening. The group was amiable and diverse, the evening set up perfectly. The spirit of the group was indeed positive and we were hoping to be impressed.

I had been to Patterson's before, a visit which was also a half-off deal and one which left me fairly well satisfied. In the two years since, Patterson's hasn't changed too much. They're still unashamedly British, unpretentious and focused on delivering punchy combinations on their plates. Our pre-starter was some fairly enjoyable green soup with croutons and cream, served in teacups. Not exactly necessary but wholly pleasant.

As a fairly big group, we tried our fair share of dishes and as a friendly enough group, we threw morsels around the table to each other. Rather than a structured, blow-by-blow review, I'm opting for a more practical approach here. There were some pretty disappointing dishes on show, not least my main course of lamb en croute, where the meat was cooked well but under-seasoned and the sides were a bean-mushed mulch. And the supplement of £5 didn't do much for the mood either.

A sauté of Scottish langoustine with mushroom accompaniments and parmesan gnocchi looked like a stunning main course that, like the lamb, failed to fly. It was a little underwhelming which didn't allow the fairly prominent and exciting ingredients to shine. To start, a Cornish crab lasagne with langoustine bisque was almost there but not quite. This sort of dish should be amazing, vibrant and rich, but it was gruffly salty and not much else. The other unfortunate shortfall was in my starter of pigeon cutlet, savoy cabbage and truffle jus. The meat was cooked well but the accompaniments were not. The foie gras was mild and the truffles were just missing. It didn't do the description or the £3 supplement justice.

On to better things, the rest was fairly lovely. Mike's first two courses of an inventive yet rustic haddock soufflé followed by pork belly with sauerkraut rosti were excellent. The first was a messy-looking thing but had a flavour that kept giving whilst remaining light and proper (left). The second was what Patterson's is truly famous for: brash British meat with comforting and enjoyable sides (below right).

The day was stolen by the other half's main course. It was the sort of dish that you enjoyed reading about but were suitably sceptical it could deliver on the plate. Sea bass with squid ink rice, calamari and whitebait is something I was certain would fall short of its description but it turned out to be a thing of beauty (above left). Served as a well-formed stack with the whitebait topping the fish, all elements of the dish were glorious. A truly memorable dish.

Elsewhere, a starter of braised veal cheek and sweetbread was strong, varied and complemented sensationally by some shallot purée. Steak and chips was predictably of a high standard. It's the sort of dish that Patterson's should be doing well and indeed they are. Puddings were mainly decent - a chocolate fondant and a blueberry cheesecake were both standard - with two touching great.

The poached pear with almond crumble and pear sorbet was elegant, sweet and combined a beautiful variety of textures and temperatures (right). Secondly (and more surprisingly), an apple, pumpkin and pecan strudel was a million miles from the sort of flabby, flat and bland strudels one has nightmares about (above left). This was superbly sweet, with the variety of flavours working in harmony to produce a delectable dessert. Soft, warm doughnuts on top of the sweet apple with vanilla ice cream on the side was a divine contrast.

One good acid test of a meal where you've had 50% off the bill is whether or not you'd feel miffed paying full price for it. At £47 for three courses, the general consensus was - if you chose correctly - that this was a meal worth paying for. Patterson's didn't get everything right but they definitely didn't fail on many fronts. We had a lovely evening and an affordable meal. For a group of five friends on a Friday, you can't ask for much more.

Patterson's