St. John

Image above: Beautifully juicy braised octopus, potato, and red onion. [Friday 25 March] | [View all photos]

Taking advantage of a lull in my project work to have a cheeky long lunch with Shun at the renowned St. John Bar & Restaurant in Smithfields.

Having enjoyed the best bacon sandwich at their sister restaurant in Spitalfields – St. John Bread & Wine, I was looking forward to trying out their speciality of nose to tail eating that’s earned them consistent praise as well as a coveted Michelin star.

Unlike most restaurants, St. John has kept true to its history of the building it inhabits. So walking in, it feels that you’re not walking into a dining destination but a place still reminiscent of it’s working past. In the dining room, there’s a uniformity of simple white from the wall colours to the crisp white linen draped across the tables to the clean whites of the waiters themselves. Its been purposely styled so that the are no deliberate distractions to take you away from the company that you’re with and the food that you’re about to enjoy. That expectation is even clearly stated in the menu.

Presented with a daily menu, we opted to go for a wide range of small plates and started with some malty wholemeal bread which is baked daily on the premises. It’s a marked difference in contrast with the mass produced supermarket version. That roused our appetite and before long the first of our dishes arrived. I couldn’t resist trying some of the native oysters and my only regret was that I only ordered two!

With nose to tail eating there were a number of offal dishes on offer and it was the rabbit kidneys that intrigued Shun the most. They were tiny (don’t be fooled by the photo) and although I have to confess that I’m not a fan of offal they didn’t taste as bad I had feared. Shun on the other hand loved gobbling them up!

Next up was a remarkably simple and understated cured anchovies salad which tasted astonishingly good with the balance of flavours and textures put together. A classic example of cooking done so well that it looks easy but is hard to actually do. This was the same with the beautifully braised octopus, potato, and red onion.

The coup de grace of the meal was the final dish of lemon sole which was just simply grilled and presented to us. Suffice it to say that Shun and I picked that fish clean and sat back feeling rather satisfied with ourselves.

Definitely a decadent lunch for both of us but well worth the experience. Next time, it’ll have to be dinner and I’d love to order the whole roast suckling pig though I’ll need another 13 to 15 friends to come along and help me devour it. Any takers? :P

St. John | 26 St. John Street, London, EC1M 4AY | Map | Nearest station: Farringdon

[View all photos]

related posts:

1. Bincho Yakitori
2. viewfinder [11.07]