PLATFORM 1 - SMOKE & SALT

I love it when a pop up I've watched grow and develop gets a permanent (ish) home, which is what's happened for the boys at Smoke and Salt. One of the original Grub Club pop ups, they're now residing at Platform 1 in East Dulwich, a beautiful space with a bar full of homemade syrups and a garden where they grow as many herbs and vegetables for the kitchen as possible. I sadly missed the press night, but popped down a couple of weeks ago with Erica to try out the food. Dulwich isn't particularly close to where I work or live (nearly a three hour round trip) but it was SO worth it.

  

We started with a few nibbles that the chef sent out, including some pig's tail croquettes, which terrified Erica, until she realised that they taste just like pulled pork. They were delicious and had the perfect crunch on the croquette. Chopped chives make even a croquette dish look pretty!

For starters I had mackerel with white romanesco, kohlrabi and kimchi. The Smoke and Salt guys do all their own curing and pickling on site, and their kimchi was fantastic. A great balance of sharp, fermentation tastes and spice. A real stand out dish, and they'd paired the mackerel perfectly. The sharpness of the accompaniments went so well with the oily fish.

Erica had confit duck plum, hoisin and summer squash which was "ridiculously delicious....and quite possibly the tastiest duck confit [she's] ever, ever had"!

Mains for me was Rabbit and Rye - pulled rabbit meat served with rye pasta, lovage, orange and hazelnut. It was such a unique flavour combination and not one I can say I've had before, but certainly one I'll try again. The orange lifted the dish while the hazelnut added a much needed crunch. The only negative is the portion size, though as I don't often eat pasta, it's probably more my problem than theirs, but there was about twice as much food on the plate than I could eat!

Erica's grilled pork belly, watermelon panzanella, lime and chicory was incredible. They've got the flavour balance on all the dishes absolutely perfect, and for every heavy, more fatty ingredient there's a fresh, clean one to counteract and compliment it.

Despite our protests we were served pudding anyway - a malt chocolate feulletine with biscuit and peppermint fondant. The malt chocolate was heavenly and tasted like sweets from my youth, though I'm not a fan of peppermint in anything except toothpaste, so let Erica finish that part.

I adore what Platform 1 are doing - promoting great chefs and giving them a platform (!) to show off their cooking, as well as focusing on the homemade, homegrown side of food. East Dulwich isn't as far as I make it out to be, so jump on a train and head down there to try out the food. And the drinks. Because the drinks, particularly the cocktails, are worth a trip alone.