A couple of weeks ago I was out and about with Lucy when we saw a tweet from Giles Coren recommending a new restaurant that neither of us had heard of. His tweet was so convincing that we would've booked in regardless, but when we realised that this new restaurant was a five minute walk from where we live we phoned to book straight away. Last Thursday we headed down to 108 Garage, which by then had been reviewed by Fay Maschler, among others, to find out what all the fuss was about.
108 Garage is just that - an old garage on Goldbourne Road that now has restaurant seating in the front two things and an open kitchen with bar seating at the back which is where we were sitting. Seated up at the counter we got a great view into the kitchen and were able to chat to the chefs. Before we'd even looked at the menu a complimentary basket of warm sourdough and pots of chicken liver parfait and tarama were passed over to us, as well little bowls of mackerel dashi broth. All absolutely delicious and a great sign of things to come. The bread and dips in particular were SO good that I could've eaten just those and left happy! Salty tarama mopped up with warm bread is one of my favourite things, and this was the best version I've had.
We settled in with negronis while we chose our "proper" food and perused the wine menu. As usual we chose dishes to share, starting with lamb heart agnolotti, swede dashi and mustard oil, and roast octopus with golden turnip and tahini for starters. Both were excellent - the agnolotti was rich and meaty in the lightest of broths while the octopus was so tender and complimented perfectly by the crunch of the turnip.
I adored the starters but it was the mains that really, really impressed. Jacob's ladder with black garlic, roast baby cucumber and dill pickle tartare was deep and rich but refreshing all at the same time.
Turbot with roe mayo, monks beard and potato salt was my idea of heaven on a plate. Everything cooked to perfection, beautifully plated and absolutely delicious. It was the most expensive main at £26 but worth every penny, and turbot is never cheap anyway.
We decided against pudding but were given the chocolate cremeux, jerusalem artichoke ice cream and puffed wild rice on the house. Despite being full and not sweet toothed we ate and enjoyed it, though the real stars of the show are the savoury courses.
108 Garage is one of the best restaurants to open in West London in a long time, and I can't wait to go back. The menu changes regularly incorporating whatever's in season and good on the day. It's towards the higher price point, but as I always say, you get what you pay for and if that's good I truly believe it's worth paying for.
We settled in with negronis while we chose our "proper" food and perused the wine menu. As usual we chose dishes to share, starting with lamb heart agnolotti, swede dashi and mustard oil, and roast octopus with golden turnip and tahini for starters. Both were excellent - the agnolotti was rich and meaty in the lightest of broths while the octopus was so tender and complimented perfectly by the crunch of the turnip.
I adored the starters but it was the mains that really, really impressed. Jacob's ladder with black garlic, roast baby cucumber and dill pickle tartare was deep and rich but refreshing all at the same time.
Turbot with roe mayo, monks beard and potato salt was my idea of heaven on a plate. Everything cooked to perfection, beautifully plated and absolutely delicious. It was the most expensive main at £26 but worth every penny, and turbot is never cheap anyway.
We decided against pudding but were given the chocolate cremeux, jerusalem artichoke ice cream and puffed wild rice on the house. Despite being full and not sweet toothed we ate and enjoyed it, though the real stars of the show are the savoury courses.
108 Garage is one of the best restaurants to open in West London in a long time, and I can't wait to go back. The menu changes regularly incorporating whatever's in season and good on the day. It's towards the higher price point, but as I always say, you get what you pay for and if that's good I truly believe it's worth paying for.
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