Ours? Hours? Arse? I haven’t been this confused since my lunch at Dinner. On our way out of Chef Tom Sellers’ fancy new joint, a passer-by was busy asking one of the superfluous bouncers what on earth the illegible handwritten-style sign above the door said. Perhaps they realised too late that it was a ridiculous name, and did the branding equivalent of attempting to turn an awkward fall into a dance move.
Anyway, I don’t really care about the name, or the wacky zebra-striped catwalk tunnel entrance, as we had a very enjoyable, if frighteningly expensive meal. I’m not quite sure what happened on Fay Maschler’s recent visits to warrant a 1 star review as we ate several of the same dishes and found them to be mostly joyous. Loud music seemed to do some of the damage, whereas we had some fairly harmless Stevie Wonder in the background. We also couldn’t fault the hospitality. Give her piece a read here, chase it with Tom Sellers’ bonkers reply here, and then pick a side and join the fallout on Twitter.
Pre-starter snacks from a separate mini menu were a good decision. Buttermilk chicken with a pineapple dip worked a treat, as did the signature (denoted by “our”) shrimp and yuzu toastie, and a futuristic bowl of gougères (posh cheese puffs). On to the menu proper, a raw salad of seabass, melon and almond had three types of melon, but crucially not enough seabass – an easy fix. The same could be said of the heritage beetroot, blood orange and curd salad which was more of a duet with curd playing hookie.
Prices rocket up for the mains, leaving Our ratatouille as the sole dish available for under £20. It’s a fine example of the genre, beautifully presented (heaven forbid), and perfect for sharing. My lamb, with butter lettuce, morels and peas was also delightful, but £30? As a writer and researcher for London Cheap Eats, it’s hard to account for those price tags when you know what else is out there.
If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed to get my Dad excited, it’s a lengthy dessert menu. Well ahead of schedule, we reserved ourselves a bellini-inspired peach soufflé with refreshing champagne and elderflower sorbet, and a big bag of rich cinnamon doughnuts (filled with either salted caramel or apple). With eight options to choose from, you might want to save space (and money) for a couple each.
Four courses and a drink each reached £75 per head in no time. It’s not great value, but it’s also not a 1 star restaurant. If you’ve got a big budget, go nuts – I’m sure you’ll have a great time. If you don’t, go to The Dairy, Brunswick House, Carousel or Oldroyd for great value, high-end dining.
