Restaurants open so regularly in London that it's hard to get to all the ones I want to try! However there was one that kept on popping up on Instagram accounts I follow, and having checked out the menu I was determined to get to Clipstone, little new sister restaurant of Portland, as soon as possible. Which was last Monday, when I headed there with Rhea to eat all the food! We totally over-ordered as usual, and whilst I really loved a lot of what we chose, if I go back I'll definitely order lighter dishes as I felt everything we had was very rich and heavy.
We started with fried leeks and sauce gribiche. I thought the leeks would be chopped and fried, rather than whole and battered, but the sauce gribiche was good and had a nice tang to it. This was was swiftly followed by one of my favourite dishes of the evening, though hardly a contender for the "light" dishes I referred to earlier - rillettes of rabbit, pork and foie gras were topped with mustard seeds and sat on top of buttery grilled bread. The rillettes were unctuous and very more-ish despite their richness. Perfectly seasoned and absolutely delicious.
The site that Clipstone is on was formerly a pizza restaurant, so Clipstone use the remaining wood fired pizza oven to make sourdough flatbreads. Again, heavier than I'd expected with quite a thick doughy base, but like the rillettes, very tasty with its topping of clams, parsley, creme fraiche and garlic.
I think the biggest disappointment for me was the special of beef tartare (it's under there, I promise!) topped with baby red chard. Hugely under seasoned, which was such a shame as I know the beef was top quality (it's the fillet from the beef they buy for their 86-day aged Longhorn beef dish), and it should've been so good. There's no salt or pepper provided on the tables, which is fine as long as the seasoning is on point!
More successful, though still not right on the seasoning (this time too salty!) was the Cornish brill, rainbow chard, miso and dulse butter dish. The fish was cooked perfectly, and the iron rich chard went so well with the brill and the fennel puree underneath the fish, but the miso and dulse butter was just too salty.
Finally, we shared the hogget, haricot beans and girolles dish (which is no longer on the menu). Hogget two ways - pink and perfect and soft as you get, and slow and low and melt in the mouth. The radishes added great bite and freshness to the dish while the sauce was rich and delicious, but again, just a bit too salty.
Despite the seasoning issues I really enjoyed our meal and will definitely be back, though would want to check that day's menu before booking in as Clipstone regularly change their menu and I've already seen new dishes on there that I want to eat. It's pretty reasonable too - we ordered too much food and shared a lovely carafe of wine and paid less than £40 each. It's a great spot for an after work dinner with mates and I'm really looking forward to what Autumn brings to their menu!
We started with fried leeks and sauce gribiche. I thought the leeks would be chopped and fried, rather than whole and battered, but the sauce gribiche was good and had a nice tang to it. This was was swiftly followed by one of my favourite dishes of the evening, though hardly a contender for the "light" dishes I referred to earlier - rillettes of rabbit, pork and foie gras were topped with mustard seeds and sat on top of buttery grilled bread. The rillettes were unctuous and very more-ish despite their richness. Perfectly seasoned and absolutely delicious.
The site that Clipstone is on was formerly a pizza restaurant, so Clipstone use the remaining wood fired pizza oven to make sourdough flatbreads. Again, heavier than I'd expected with quite a thick doughy base, but like the rillettes, very tasty with its topping of clams, parsley, creme fraiche and garlic.
I think the biggest disappointment for me was the special of beef tartare (it's under there, I promise!) topped with baby red chard. Hugely under seasoned, which was such a shame as I know the beef was top quality (it's the fillet from the beef they buy for their 86-day aged Longhorn beef dish), and it should've been so good. There's no salt or pepper provided on the tables, which is fine as long as the seasoning is on point!
More successful, though still not right on the seasoning (this time too salty!) was the Cornish brill, rainbow chard, miso and dulse butter dish. The fish was cooked perfectly, and the iron rich chard went so well with the brill and the fennel puree underneath the fish, but the miso and dulse butter was just too salty.
Finally, we shared the hogget, haricot beans and girolles dish (which is no longer on the menu). Hogget two ways - pink and perfect and soft as you get, and slow and low and melt in the mouth. The radishes added great bite and freshness to the dish while the sauce was rich and delicious, but again, just a bit too salty.
Despite the seasoning issues I really enjoyed our meal and will definitely be back, though would want to check that day's menu before booking in as Clipstone regularly change their menu and I've already seen new dishes on there that I want to eat. It's pretty reasonable too - we ordered too much food and shared a lovely carafe of wine and paid less than £40 each. It's a great spot for an after work dinner with mates and I'm really looking forward to what Autumn brings to their menu!
Really love the look of Clipstone's dishes! I've never had hogget (what a name) but it looks yummy, and I could so go for those fried leeks and rillettes. It really does look like the kind of restaurant that would serve great seasonal dishes, perfect for autumn and its bounties :) x
ReplyDeleteTamsin | A Certain Adventure
You may have had hogget and not known it - it's just a certain aged lamb!
DeleteRosie xx