I have a confession to make. For the last 2 or 3 years, I've been eating on the cheap.
Nope, I haven't been deluged with freebies, much as I would like to be. No, I've simply been taking advantage of very competitive set lunch pricing at some of London's best restaurants. It's a great way to try top-notch cooking without having to remortgage your house.
My recent visit to Texture, an Icelandic-run resto in the heart of swanky Mayfair, was one such occasion. As with so many places, it's been on my list for some time, but was recently given a gentle nudge back towards the top of that list by my recent reacquaintance with Scandinavian food. Texture's head chef is Agnar Sverrisson, formerly of Pétrus and Le Manoir - a man of evident ambition and vision who, since Texture opened in 2007, has been bringing a touch of Nordic style to the capital. His efforts have been well recieved - numerous accolades have already come Texture's way, including its first Michelin star just a few weeks ago.
High time, then, for me to pay a visit. And, for the first time in a while, I remembered to take my camera along with me. Unfortunately for me, we were then seated at a table away from any natural light. C'est la vie.
Still, I had my camera and I was going to use it, as you will see... ;-)
So, what can you expect for £22 for 3 courses? Well, for a start, our meal was littered with more than just the three courses. Unlike some places that offer set price menus, and which serve up a mealy-mouthed effort devoid of all the extras that make a venue like this a bit special, Texture does no such thing. We had exactly the same frills and fripperies as those eating a la carte.
We kicked off with an array of 'crisps' for want of a better word...
These included the obligatory parmesan crisp, but also a thinner than thin potato version, a pungent seaweedy variety (think cat's breath, and you're halfway there - but it tasted way better than it smelled, for which I'm hugely thankful), and a couple of others which now escape my memory. And a dip which we largely bypassed, not least because the crisps were so delicate as not to need it.
Next up, our amuse bouche, a cold pea and mint 'soup' topped with a granita comprising the same ingredients. Sadly, my camera nearly went into meltdown at this point, struggling valiantly as it was with the low lighting. Trying to get a shot of the amuse from above the little cup just wasn't going to work. This, I'm afraid, is the best I could come away with...
... which I hope gives you at least some semblance of the idea. My (and no doubt, your) frustration at the photo isn't eased if I tell you that this little concoction was stunning. An amazing, lighter-than-light granita on top of a rich, creamy, very pea-y-and-minty, smooth-as-you-like gloopy soup. The Other Diner and I agreed on its fabulousness, and would have been happy paying our respective £22 just for that. Well, almost. How Sverrisson achieves the creaminess of the soup without using butter or cream (one of the hallmarks of his cooking), I would dearly love to know. Perhaps I should have asked him - he was much in evidence at the pass throughout the lunch service.
It was hard to imagine that our amuse could be bettered by our starters - and, arguably, it wasn't.
Mine, of beetroot, goat's cheese, and chervil ice cream, was beautifully prepared, fresh and lovely to eat, but it just didn't reach the heights of the amuse. That said, it was infinitely better than most beetroot and goat's cheese starters I've eaten to date, so I guess I'm being a bit picky.
The Other Diner said much about our other starter, described on the menu as 'Icelandic line caught Haddock - Smoked, confit, mustard, hen egg'. It did, indeed, seem to include all those things (my photo was so appalling, I've spared you - so you'll have to take my word for it), but somehow it didn't quite grab us.
Having booked in for a late lunch as we had, I suppose I wasn't wholly unsurprised to be told that they had only one portion of one of the mains left, the lamb - which, of course, I'd been intending to have. Still, out of the goodness of my heart, I let The Other Diner have it. In its place, the waitress offered me five-spiced duck - which I might well have opted for had it been on the menu in the first place. Hardly a shoddy substitute.
Enter, the lamb...
... and the duck...
... and now, another confession. I didn't take notes, and neither the lamb nor the duck are mentioned on the current menu. So I can't tell you what they were accompanied by, and nor can I dredge anything helpful from my age-eaten memory. I CAN tell you that the duck was very good - cooked to perfection, with a crisp coat giving way to tender, tasty meat. The spicing was perfect, and notable for its restraint - there, but in no way overwhelming the duck.
And that last portion of lamb? Equally good, apparently, and wonderfully tender and moist. Like my duck, not a morsel was left on the plate, so I guess that tells its own story.
Dessert was a shoo-in for Iceland's very own Skyr, on this occasion served with poached forced rhubarb, muesli, and granité.
The Other Diner and I were both rendered speechless again. The lemon-tinged creaminess of the Skyr was the perfect foil for the rhubarb and, together with the muesli crumb, and the icy granité went to make up a gorgeous, refreshing, palate-tingling dessert. It was simply quite stunning.
For me, a good meal isn't complete unless finished with a good coffee. But so many places fall down on this element, serving watery, bitter, under- or over-brewed, lukewarm or super-heated brown stuff instead. Not here, I'm pleased to say.
Coffee to treasure... smooth, dark, mellow, with champion crema:
oh, and ably assisted by coffee macarons (not my thing, but these were admittedly rather good), and some uber-dark chocolate truffles.
Yes, ok, so we chose to spend more than £22 by virtue of indulging ourselves with the wine list (for which Texture has also received considerable acclaim), but the point is, we needn't have done.
We could have had all the above, a bottle of water, and coffees for little over £50. For the overall standard of food you get here, not to mention the superb service, the relaxed ambience and lovely room, it represents an absolute bargain. True, the actual meal didn't dazzle absolutely all the way through, but there were more than enough sparkly highlights to leave us feeling happy and satisfied.
So, when you next have £22 or so in your pocket, you could do worse than to give yourself the afternoon off and toddle along to Texture, just as we did, and bear witness to its Northern (de)lights.
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163 comments:
I've being eying up set lunch menus for my next trip over to London town and Texture was top of the list. This keeps it there!
I'm so impressed! I've stopped doing that sort of meal deal because so often they reel you in with that promise and then you end up ordering a la carte because the prix fixe is so unappealling.
How lovely! And very exciting as this is next on my Posh Lunch Club list :)
It is lovely that they give all the extras, they do the same at The Ledbury and it's a real treat.
Lovely post!
This looks like a lovely place for lunch. Will have to pay them a visit soon!
Lovely post - and the pictures are good! I have had a few of the set lunch deals, and only L'Atelier de Joel Roubouchon didn't impress.
i think i missed out, didnt I?
at least i know that london is not far away any more...
You do get to some lovely places! Duck looks amazing.
Cheers
David
Such a joy to read Helen. Made me really want to go.
littlepinkkitchen - good!
Foodycat - I agree it's worth checking before going/booking. Some are distinctly better than others.
Niamh - enjoy!
Su-yin - yup, you will...
Lizzie - I think most of them are great deals. Noted re L'A de JR
Maria - you'll just have to come back...
David - it was very good. Mind you, so was the lamb by all accounts!
Rachel - thank you. I hope you go before long. Treat yourself.
That looks outstanding for £22. I'm a bit weird, I quite like the sound of those stinky cat breath crisps.
I think you are clever to eat on the cheap at the best restaurants. This one certainly has interesting food - and it's not often you'd find an Icelandic restaurant outside of Iceland.
I've actually yet to be acquainted with Scandinavian food! Well, beyond the meatballs at IKEA and a few pastries :) These are far more sophisticated than any set lunches I've ever had!
That looks like a crazy amazing meal for £22! The pea & mint amuse bouche and granita sounds like a perfect palate cleanser.. yum and really, it's more like a 6 course meal! :)
Sarah - erm, yeah, you are a bit weird... ;-)
Cakelaw - not so much clever as cunning... But yes, great food, and a chance to taste Icelandic food without going to Iceland!
Manggy - you've got to come over here one day, Mark
catty - yes, I love all the additional bits and pieces. Small touches, but they add up to big contentment!
wow, everything looks perfect! how i wish i can make dishes as goodlooking and delicious as those, haha! great post!
Set menus are such a good idea! It's how I managed to get lunch at a very posh local place. Well done on getting such good photos in the low lighting - seriously. That dessert looks heavenly and I too am curious about that pea soup now...
Set lunches are such great value - this sounds like a good deal and that the set lunch actually has stuff on worth ordering.
Sounds like a fabolous meal. I love upscale places with a set price menu. I need to take advantage of that more often here in New York!
You really have a good food presentation. It's either you are a chef or you are just experienced in doing this. I tried to do picture taking of spice racks before but now I am collecting them. It's really helpful.
Oh yum! I can't wait to try Texture's set lunch (going in fact today, whoopee!) lovely post Helen, and the photos are infinitely better than anything I could've come up with ;0
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