Conran's
latest baby opens just off Regent's
Street
Heddon
Street (just behind Regent Street on
the Mayfair side of the road) is being
redeveloped by its owners, the Crown
Estate as a pedestrian precinct. Good
news for diners sitting outside the new
Zinc Bar & Grill who will be able to
taste their food free of exhaust fumes.
Chef Paul Catterson is a Conran
man - he comes from Quaglino's in St
James's, and the accent on crustacea
there will accompany him to Mayfair.
Zinc is quite big - 115 seats within
and a further 36 outside when the weather
is warm enough. The main restaurant on
the ground floor is dominated by the
stylish 40 foot long zinc bar lit from
the skylights above. As well as good
range of cocktails, so popular in London
nowadays, there are plenty of bar snacks
to fill the odd corner. In common with
typical Conran practice, the state of
the art stainless steel kitchen is on
view to the diners.
It
reminds us of a larger scale version
of The Polygon, (not a Conran eaterie), which we admired
when it opened at the end of last
year. There's a Menu Prix Fixe, two
courses for 8.95, three for 12.50.
Some dishes come from the main menu;
you might be offered Cran Bisque
or Leek and pancotta tart followed
by Sausages and mash or Cod and colannon.
From the main menu, starters might
include terrine de campagne, gaspacho
or oeuf en gelée all at 3.50.
Main courses include Squid new potatoes
and aïoli or Eel and bacon skewer
for 7.50, or rotisseried rib of beef
11.50, poussin with Toulouse sausage
9.95, or leg of lamb with rosemary
and garlic. There's a plateau de
Fruits de Mer for 24.50, or you can
have lobster mayo from 11.75, crab
mayo for 7.50, or a dozen rock oysters
for 12.00. All crustacea are in the
shell. (I thought oysters were molluscs?)
Early
reports suggest that the plain no
nonsense cooking at Zinc is right
on the spot, with good ingredients
well prepared, unfussily but attractively
presented. The plan is to roll out
more Zinc Bars & Grills in London
and the rest of the UK.
Zinc
Bar & Grill, 19-21 Heddon Street,
W1, Tel: 020 7255 8899
Open
Mon-Wed 11am - 11pm; Thur-Sat 11am
- 1am; Sun 12noon to 6pm.
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