Although the restaurant has not been open that long, there is a new
headchef Nacho Martinez, from Madrid who is already making his
presence felt. He is young, tall, very good looking, his English is
excellent and I have a feeling he will soon be on the box showing us how
to make the perfect Brandada de Bacalao. His open kitchen occupies
one end of the restaurant and his brigade affect his close shaven
hairstyle that makes the darker haired amongst them look as intense and brooding
as Jesuit novitiates.
The lunch menu at 12.50 for two courses, or 15.00 for three including coffee, changes daily and might include a starter such as sweet red peppers with salt cod mousse with squid ink sauce, a dish we tried at dinner. There was roast stuffed goose for lunch, but not for dinner on the evening when we visited.
I can seldom resist Fish Soup, and this one was really impressive. The bisque was crabby and there were hints of saffron and star anise. Good sized scampi tails and mussels each retained their own flavours. Another dish of well seared scallops came two by two with tender sweetbreads, a treat that's become rather rare these days. (The proximity to Smithfield Market should be an asset to the restaurants in this locality). There was a very pretty salad arranged inside a circle of thin lengthways slices of cucumber. This presentation has greatly impressed two different sets of dinner guests over the weekend - so thank you, Nacho, for the idea! The bradada, or salt cod mousse stuffed into sweet peppers was another idea that I shall certainly be trying out at home. I just loved the combination of creamy, salty cod together with the vibrant flavours of the pepper and the rich sepia sauce. Another successful starter dish consisted of perfectly shaped deep fried coquettes made from spider crab meat, served with a minty tomato salsa for dipping.
The principal ingredeinet of the special main course of the day was oxtail (Smithfield again!), where the meat was removed from the bone and shaped into a round patty held together with caul to make a crepinette. The oxtail was brown and glutinous, just as it should be. It was served quite plainly with crisp little sautéed cubes of diced potato. By contrast, the fillet of venison with onion confit looked more sophisticated, as did medallions of veal fillet with fresh foie. The good thing about this sort of menu is that it encompasses an interesting variety of dishes ranging from vibrant, rustic cooking to more elaborate, subtle styles.
We just about managed an ice cream, rather a nice one with a lot of
sherry in it. I rather fancied an Arabian Tart,
but was told to behave myself.
Sherry, having been for far too long served warm in thimbles in
the rooms of Oxbridge dons, is making a come back. In a decent sized glass,
a chilled Amontillado hit the spot for quite a while, just staying the
distance long enough to pair brilliantly with the fish soup. After that we
didn't mess about; the Marques de Murrieta Reserva Especial Rioja, 28.00 kept us
very happy indeed. A glass of Moscatel de Javea provided a pleasant
finale to an excellent meal.
There is a good, if small, selection of wines, ranging from house Rioja at 11.00, to Valbuena and Vega Sicilia Unico at 150.00. On the subect of prices, the starters range from 5.00 to 12.00 for foie gras, main courses go from 10.00 to 16.00, and the desserts are all 4.50. Thus the average cost of a three course a la carte dinner sharing a bottle of house wine is about 30.00.
The friendly service at Gaudi is under the professional eye of restaurant manager Gloria Phillips whom many will remember from Harry's Bar.
Restaurante Gaudi, 63 Clerkenwell Road, EC1
Tel: 020 7608 3220
Open: Monday to Thursday 12 to 2.30pm and 7 to 10.30pm
Friday 12 to 2.30pm and 7 to 9.30pm
Web: http://www.turnmills.co.uk/turnmills/gaudi.html
If you have visited Gaudi, please let us have your comments:
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