the UK based Restaurant and Hotel Review
the UK based Restaurant and Hotel Review
Archipelago
Louise Elgin experiences animal magic in Fitzrovia!
Archipelago 110 Whitfield Street, Fitzrovia W1 Tel 020 7383 3346
Do you ever feel like I do about dining out? When one more supreme of chicken or goats cheese salad, offered at exorbitant prices and you’ll be running from your table screaming. Maybe I sound a little jaded, but perhaps it's because my senses were given such a wake up call last night when I dined at Archipelago.
Archipelago is tucked away in an unremarkable side street in Fitzrovia - on first impression it looks quite unassuming, but appearances can be deceptive as we were walking into what I can only describe as a monument to entertaining eccentricity. The dining room which is quite small, seating a total of around 35, is an Aladdin’s cave filled with treasures. Low lighting, amazing throne chairs and sensual music, gave way to a surreal atmosphere, all blending unpretentiously with the copious art filled walls. Buddha statues sat serenely on high, whilst the jumble of peacock feathers, candlelight and all manner of artefacts added to the extraordinary atmosphere.
This is a very sensuous restaurant, not a place to rush over, but to linger, soaking up the wonderful atmosphere and would make an excellent choice for a romantic dinner a deux, or a special treat with valued friends. I had invited one of my most knowledgeable foodie pals to join me, and as we sipped on a glass of perfectly chilled champagne, in delightfully mis-matched glasses, it almost seemed that we had followed Alice and the White Rabbit into Wonderland.
Archipelago lies on the site of the former ‘Birdcage’ restaurant, and although it has undergone a bit re-vamp, still has much the same feeling and style of its predecessor. The menu and its presentation has to be one of the wackiest I’ve ever seen, served up as a small scroll. Undoing it, the bizarre sounding choices made us wonder how we were going to be able to decipher what on earth there was to eat. Luckily our charming waitress, who looked more like a model, meticulously explained to us everything in detail, which took some time. She was endlessly patient with our barrage of questions, but I suppose we couldn’t help being inquisitive with such a bizarre sounding selection.
The Australian chef, Campbell Starr, who cooked in the kitchen at Birdcage, and now taken charge at Archipelago, must have cooked in all four corners of the world, for here were some extraordinary and exciting sounding dishes completely new to us. To begin we could have chosen from a selection including ‘Gold Toast’, which turned out to be shredded foie gras served with toast and real gold leaf, or Awaji Island Broth, an amazing sounding soup with sushi and mushrooms. I chose ‘Galapagos Dodo Spears’, which turned out to be peacock, (I’d never seen it on a menu before so decided to be brave and order it!) which came served with a tropical fruit satay.
My guest had chosen ‘Cayman Islands Croc-on-a-Rock’. This turned out to be seared crocodile wrapped in vine leaves, and was served with a very sweet lime and sour yellow plum sauce. The crocodile had an almost smoked taste, was tender and succulent and extremely good, we ate it between us before sampling the peacock which came served on a skewer with pineapple, was deep fried and served with a teriyaki and lime sauce, which made a delicious accompaniment.
On asking for the wine list, we again experienced this restaurant's eccentricity, as it arrived folded up inside a little wooden pot, which turned out to be an authentic message carrier from East Timor! There was a good variety from the ‘Rare and Fine’ section at alarming prices, to the mostly New World based list, with bottles from £18.50 upwards. Both being drivers that evening, we had to slow down our alcoholic consumption, resulting in us ordering a half bottle of ’94 St Joseph Cote du Rhone, at £16.50, which had a good robust flavour to accompany our food.
The main courses smacked of exotic originality at every choice, with the likes of ‘Irrawaddy Pulses’ a vegetarian smoked tofu open lasagne with a Burmese based sauce. Berber Tents, was Ethiopian sour dough pancakes, served with minced lamb, garlic and a yoghurt dressing, and Hot Marsupial, was kangaroo rump coated in peppercorns on a bed of orange sweet potato with lentils and cashew nuts.
My guest chose ‘Mountain chicken with callaloo’, which wasn’t chicken but Jamaican style fillet of frog legs stir fried with cashew nuts, peppercorns, baby corn and calloo, a spinach native to Jamaica, this was served with lavender rice. She said it was beautifully presented, original whilst being so tasty and moist. I had decided on ‘Swamp Fever’, Archipelago’s version of a Thai green chicken curry, cooked with bamboo shoots and sweet and sour chillis, which came served with poppy seed rice and Chinese broccoli. It was delicately perfumed, subtle in flavours, with perfectly cooked rice, the Chinese broccoli perfectly al dente.
My guest, now thoroughly in the spirit of the evening had even gone ahead and ordered the ‘Locust-eater Salad’. This really was taking being adventurous to new heights as I struggled to have my share of what transpired to be locusts, crickets and scorpions served with lettuce and rocket in a honey dressing. The scorpion was amazing, tasting of concentrated beef stock, the cricket had a taste of freshly cut grass about it and locust was the best, quite meaty, deliciously crispy and very unusual.
Finding room for pudding was easy as the food was so light and delicate. Again we were spoilt for choice, with everything sounding different and interesting. I had the ‘Baby Bee Alaska’, which was described as a ‘rhubarb hive with an umeboshi sting’. This looked very attractive, with an actual baby bee set into a honeycomb shell, although it was a little too sweet for our taste. Our other choice, ‘Stairway to heaven’ was ginger brulee and nashi pear, which she I thought I’d describe in her exact words, and ‘tactile dipping pears in ginger brulee with sesame seed wafers, so sensual and naughty’. - Yes, she too seemed caught up in this restaurants mood and atmosphere! We finished off with ‘A visit from the Doctor’, which I won’t give anyway too much about except everyone has to have one, a perfect way to end our evening!
With two course at £32.50 or three at £38.50, Archipelago is fairly expensive, but then for a dining experience that is more like theatre for the mind as well as the palate, its worth every penny, and makes for a magical night to remember.
Louise Elgin August 2001.
Mon - Fri Lunch 12 2.30
Mon - Saturday Dinner 6 - 10.45
Closed Sundays
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