Berkeley-Square-Café W1
Last
year I very much enjoyed Stephen
Black's cooking at 179 Shaftesbury
Avenue. He had taken over from
the flamboyant Irish chef Conrad
Gallagher. I found Black's cooking
to be more approachable than
that of his ex-boss - less fiddly,
more honest, but with some nicely
judged twists and well thought
out combinations. My only real
criticism had been that in spite
of the money thrown at the venue,
it was a bit over designed and
too far down the wrong end of
the Avenue. Such a large space
needed seriously populating and
that didn't seem to happen. Now,
right on the corner of Berkeley
Square in the heart of Mayfair,
Black has his own premises at
last and can carve out his own
particular niche. Very sensibly
he has brought with him some
key staff, notably his pretty
wife Merete who looks after front
of house with Joe McColgan, thus
ensuring a neat touch of the
Irish about the atmosphere. The
dining room is light and airy
with various tones of mauve,
from lilac walls to aubergine
drapes and a dark mulberry carpets.
There's an understated touch
of luxury with the chocolate
brown leather chairs and immaculate
napery.
Also
from 179 come a few of Black's
signature dishes, so you'll still
find starters like the marvellous
crab risotto or the scallop and
foie gras combination that I
so admired last year. Indeed,
the menu items are so descriptive
that I've put in a
link to the whole menu for
you to peruse at your leisure.
Each of us was first offered
a different and well crafted
amuse, then we tried the Spinach
soup with goat's cheese mousse
decorated with a strip of crispy
bacon. The brilliant emerald
green colour was striking, and
the mild goat's cheese flavour
perfectly balanced the spinach.
I had the Caramelised Sweetbreads,
which were absolutely delicious,
this time set off with a grilled
artichoke and some Cumbrian ham
- another combination that worked
so well.
It's
interesting to look at the variety
of bases upon which Stephen Black
sets his main ingredients. It's
become a bit of a jokey cliché that's
easily sent up: "pan fried
hippo toes on a bed of lightly
crushed water lily corms".
But here are some really appetising
foundations - a casserole of
broad beans and fennel to go
with the braised cod; creamed
celeriac and wild mushrooms with
the Aberdeen Angus fillet; a
Tian of aubergine with cous cous
for the herb-crusted lamb.
My
steamed halibut came on a bed
of creamy risotto flavoured with
spring onions and with a sauce
made from mussels infused with
saffron. I think I
enjoyed
the accompaniments almost more than the fish itself. My friend had the duck,
done two ways, the breast roasted to caramelise the skin, and the confit
of leg wrapped in filo pastry to make a North African pastilla - a further
Magreb
touch came in the form of a hazelnut and fig sauce. The base for this
dish was an equally creamy risotto made from buckwheat - an idea I can't
wait to try.
It
goes without saying these days
that the presentations were lovely
to look at, none being elaborate
for its own sake. A variety of
china and glassware of different
shapes and styles has been chosen
to show off a particular dish.
No more so than for the puddings.
We had to have a signature dish
from 179 days - the Citrus Plate
featuring a mouth watering trio
of lemon tart, orange sorbet
and citrus fruit salad in a tuille
basket. For those who crave chocolate,
Black's fondant is almost as
dark as his name - and the pistachio
ice cream made a wonderful contrast
of texture, temperature and refreshing
flavour.
There!
I couldn't find a thing to criticise
- for my particular taste this
is a restaurant I could return
to time and time again. Don't
be put off by the name - it's
not a café at all. The service
was excellent, but hardly under
severe pressure yet, except perhaps
at lunch time, where two courses
for £14.95 or three for £18.95
seems very fair for such stylish
cooking.
The
Berkeley Square Café 7
Davies Street, Mayfair, London
W1K 3DD
Tel: 020 7629 6993
email: info@berkeleysquarecafe.com website: www.berkeleysquarecafe.com
