The bar grill idea has caught on fast, replacing the wine bar which now seems rather passé. There's a harder edged feel, the atmosphere is fast but friendly, the service slick and engaging. The idea behind the food at Polygon is simplicity. The kitchen is small, completely open at the end of the space, and fabulously kitted out. Rotisserie cooking is coming back into fashion with new hi-tech machines that sear and seal the outside of the meat, keeping more of the juices inside. The secret of the Polygon rotisserie is the marinades that are used before cooking, such as the lamb chump which is steeped in yoghurt, honey and mint.

We tried some really excellent starters: chargrilled baby squid with an olive stuffing was tender and tasty and the dressing on the salad was piquant and delicious. The grill is used on vegetables just as effectively as it is with meat, so quarters of artichoke hearts arrived with a smokey flavour further enriched with a tomato and rosemary olive oil dressing. Pacific fusion enticed me so I tried the sashimi, delicate oyster-fresh slivers of raw tuna in a tangy lime ginger and wasabi dressing. Grilled pheasant breast was treated as if is were fillet steak and my guest, an American restaurant critic from New England, was ecstatic about the mushroom compote that provided the bedding for the tender pink meat.

The prices of the starters begin at 3.50 for homemade soup and top out at 5.50 for the grilled pheasant breast and grilled split quail with spiced fig and apricot preserve. The main course grills and rotisserie dishes start at 7.75 for grilled spice rubbed pork ribs with Asian Slaw, up to 13.75 for half a lobster, grilled with an accompaniment of red chilli mayonnaise and sweet potato chips.

Blackened grilled salmon 8.75, proved to be a massive flavour attack, I can't think when I've had such a good salmon dish, the spicy cucumber and watermelon relish was a light relief. Grilled fillet steak with aubergine jam and tobacco onions came beautifully cooked and presented. The steak was like mousse, the onions were a miracle of candy floss texture. I'd recommend the additional vegetables because they really are good and they all cost under two quid a serving, but don't have more than one portion per two people unless you don't mind leaving half of it uneaten! Come to think of it, the grilled corn on the cob with chilli dressing would make a splendid starter for only 1.75

By this stage we were curious to discover whether we had lost touch with reality. Were we in a culinary heaven all of our own, imagining all this, we wondered? Thanks to the brasserie style seating, we soon struck up lively conversations with our neighbours on either side. The foursome on our right were sophisticated metropolitan grandees and they also seemed very satisfied with their dinner. Three very pretty girls on our left were equally enthusiastic, one was a genuine foodie who had doubts about the lobster, but everything else got the thumbs up.

The service was very friendly from very sweet Eastern European girls: one was ultra glamorous and would probably have been a spy in the cold war days, (if only I had had secrets to sell her!). The other one came from the Mittel-Europa tradition of making sure their menfolk are well padded around the waistline. There was no escaping the puddings while she was in charge! The menu indicated a cooking time of fifteen minutes for the chocolate pandoro bread and butter pudding 4.50. The waitress said I simply had to try it. I protested feebly that we should really be on our way, but it fell on deaf ears. Less than five minutes later the pudding arrived, a little underdone perhaps, but richly and wickedly delicious.

We drank wines by the glass, particularly enjoying the Firestead Oregon Pinot Noir at 3.75 a glass. Bottles start at 9.50 and go on up to thirty pounds for posh Burgundies like Gevrey-Chambertin, but there's a good selection in the mid-teens. The Polygon was very busy, the first enthusiastic dash, perhaps. We had quite a party, the atmosphere was really terrific, with owner Stuart Hopson-Jones going round all the tables chatting to the customers, and the chefs strutting their stuff out the open for all to see.

We enjoyed ourselves so much that we decided to award Polygon the Dine Online Accolade for the most interesting newcomer of the year. Congratulations to Chef Sascha Pin and his team, and jolly well don't go letting me down in the quiet, cold days of late January when the New Year spirit has evaporated and the grim realities of the normal day to day grind have started to sink in!

Clifford Mould, December 1996

The Polygon Bar and Grill, 4 The Polygon, Clapham Old Town, London SW4.
Tel: 020 7622 1199 * Open seven days a week.

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