Lisa
Teoh keeps the vampires at bay
with lots of garlic at the fun
but foodie
First Floor Restaurant
in trendy Notting Hill
It is always difficult to find
somewhere good to eat late at night,
post-theatre, cinema or as in our
case, Swan Lake. We had planned
to go to Ffiona's on Kensington
Church Street, but had not got
round to booking, and on calling
in expectantly, Ffiona regretfully
turned us away as she was not feeling
well.
So we cruised on to Kensington
Park Road in Notting Hill,
still hoping to find somewhere
decent that would satisfy our growing
hunger as the clock ticked further
and further beyond 11 o'clock.
Neither Osteria Basilico nor Mediterraneo
could accommodate us but then we
saw The First Floor Restaurant just
around the corner (and, incidentally,
opposite The Travel Bookshop whose
interior, I believe was featured
in THAT film). Knowing that the
restaurant had recently been renovated,
I voted with my feet and encouraged
my girlfriends to follow.
The entrance to The First Floor
is very, well, unusual but I'm
not sure it particularly reflects
the style of the restaurant itself.
The door off the street is located
to the side of the pub (The Ground
Floor - what else would it be called?)
and on entering the small hall
within one has to step from stone "lily
pad" to "lily pad", all of which
are surrounded by a sea of coloured
shingle. This is all very entertaining
especially when one is wearing
a long, very straight skirt! But
more amusement is to come: as one
steps onto the last of the lily
pads a buzzer is heard to ring
upstairs. I was trying to work
out the necessity of testing the
weight of the potential diner when
I realised that it was the result
of interrupting a beam of light
and not a secret code to the chef.
The main dining room of the restaurant
is fabulous: a large square room
with a high ceiling and beautiful
cornicing. It was particularly
well shown off on our visit as
the huge sash windows were thrown
open, allowing in a warm summer
breeze on one of our rare, truly
summer nights. Despite the lateness
of the hour, we were welcomed by
the very friendly staff and shown
to a table by a window.
The menu is modern European with
a slight emphasis on seafood in
the starters. The main courses
are varied and include poached
sea bass, lamb, Bresse pigeon,
and roasted wild mushrooms, to
name but a few. There are some
exciting accompaniments to these
dishes such as Biarritz potatoes,
pea puree, celeriac and thyme mash
and fig compote. In addition, although
unnecessary for most of the dishes,
there is a selection of side orders
such as rocket and Parmesan salad,
rosemary-roasted carrots and French
beans.
It took the three of us quite
a while to reach our decisions,
but eventually we plumped for rare
tuna with choi sum, garlic and
soya (£6.50: the only "fusion" dish
on the menu), ravioli filled with
roasted butternut pumpkin and goats
cheese in a wild garlic sauce (£5.00),
and the Jersey Royal salad with
green beans, shallots and boiled
quails eggs in a Dijon mustard
dressing (£4.50).
The tuna was beautifully rare
and, with its oriental accompaniments,
reminiscent of sushi. The ravioli
were pleasingly small squares rather
than one or two large parcels and
the filling of pumpkin and goats'
cheese was very tasty and light.
The surrounding garlic sauce was
sufficiently strong to ensure the
vampires were kept at bay, but
without drowning the flavours of
the pasta. My only criticism of
the Jersey Royal salad was that
it should really have been described
as a green bean salad with potatoes
etc. The green beans were perfectly
blanched so that there were crisp
and tasted as if they had only
just been harvested - a difficult
feat to achieve. But they were
the predominant flavour of the
salad which, whilst not a bad thing,
was not quite what was expected.
Sadly, the quails eggs were not
so evident, but the dish as a whole
worked well.
Our main courses were as pleasing
as the starters: the poached sea
bass with ratatouille, red pepper
sauce and Biarritz potatoes looked
stunning and tasted excellent (£14.50).
Black leg chicken was pan roasted
and came with gallette potatoes,
confit of garlic (just in case
those vampires thought they'd have
another go), shallots and tarragon
jus (£12.50). Having been unable
to decide between the Jersey Royal
salad and the ravioli for starters,
I ordered a double portion of the
pasta for a main dish and a side
order of tomato and shallot salad.
Unfortunately, the waiter misheard
me when I made my request and I
was served the tomato salad as
my main dish - a mistake that is
quite understandable in figure-conscious
Notting Hill! But the error was
quickly rectified by the chef and
recompense promised (and fulfilled)
on the bill.
Despite the hour now being well
past midnight, we were still offered
the pudding menu, which we regretfully
declined all being far too full.
Instead, we ordered cappuccinos
and savoured the end of our evening.
The First Floor Restaurant is
really quite a find: as well as
the slightly funky but gracious
dining room on the eponymous floor,
there are two further rooms upstairs.
The first of these is perhaps a
little too stylised with a penetrating
gothic feel, much dripping candle
wax and a huge (designer) crack
along the partition wall. But the
second room works brilliantly:
the décor is plainer (and intact),
still with many candles and their
dripping wax, and an enormous Victorian
dining table, capable of seating
30 odd diners. Gothick diners?
This room can be hired during
the day or evening for private
events. I can't wait to hold a
party there (just deciding on the
excuse). A choice of two three-course
set menus is on offer, both of
which offer as an exciting a selection
as the a la carte menu for £25.95
or £17.95. There is also an appetising
set lunch (2 courses for £12.00
or three for £15.00) as well as
a brunch and lunch menu. So next
time you are visiting Notting Hill
to plunder Portobello market, pose
on Elgin Crescent or parade on
Westborne Grove, head to The First
Floor for a fab meal in flamboyant
surroundings.
The First Floor Restaurant
186 Portobello Road
W11
020 7243 0072
