Louise Elgin had lunch at The House

in the Sloane end of Chelsea

The House, formally the English House, now under the umbrella of Searcy-Corrigan group since August 1999 proved to have a very relaxing atmosphere for a leisurely mid week lunch. For only £14.50 one can have a very interesting voyage into a style of cuisine too time consuming in its preparation for home cooking. Chef Graham Garrett offers an eclectic menu which confidently mingles ingredients and flavours in unexpected combinations.

On first glance at the menu I was not sure what to have as a starter, but settled on curried parsnip soup with crispy chicken wings, as I was curious to discover how the flavours would taste together. The soup was creamy and delicious and I was uncertain if I would have known it was curried, or parsnip for that matter - I might have guessed butternut squash if I’d been blind tasting. The crispy chicken in the centre of the soup was very tasty and married well with the flavours, really enhancing them.

My companion began with salt cod fritters with a red pepper hummus, pronouncing it excellent. It was very light and beautifully presented with a decorative green and red border, consisting of red pepper and parsley oil. Other choices to begin were interesting and diverse, from a risotto of suckling pig and kale, to a chicken, ham and black pudding terrine with tomato and onion chutney.

For my main course, I chose poached ham with yellow split peas and parsley broth, a generous portion, beautifully presented, although a little too salty for my palate. It was served with very flavoursome vegetables, braised celery and the sweetest, tastiest carrots I think I’ve ever eaten, in fact, I think I had forgotten how a carrot should taste, normally dismissing them as indifferent. There was also a pool of "melt in the mouth" mash.

My fellow diner chose what I first thought was rather an odd sounding combination of flavours for one dish, roast scallops and confit pork belly with garlic purée and fennel, although on its arrival I felt quite jealous! Cubes of pork belly had been slowly cooked in goose fat and were finished with a miraculously crisp skin. Next to them were plump roasted scallops, resting on a bed of garlic and fennel purée. The presentation was beautiful and I could now see what a good combination it actually was.

The menu offers a variety of meat and fish main dishes, with one vegetarian choice which was a pasta with mushrooms, cep cream truffle sauce and truffle oil. There was a jolly good looking roast rump of lamb which I saw other diners tucking into, or skate with a shrimp beurre noisette. For pudding, my colleague, having a robust appetite, chose the banana and toffee crumble tartlet with chocolate sorbet. I only wished I too had room for this absolutely scrumptious looking pudding which I was told was excellent, except perhaps the inclusion of the chocolate sorbet was a little too rich, suggesting that perhaps a fruit sorbet might have been a more refreshing accompaniment.

Having at first refused a pudding I was persuaded to try something, so resisting the temptations of baked apple dumpling with toffee sauce and clotted cream, or prune and armagnac creme brulée, I choose the blood orange and pink grapefruit jelly with lemon sorbet. Jelly is something I associate with childhood and had not eaten for quite some time, but it was light and smooth, with the blood orange set in the middle; the sorbet was fresh and melted in the mouth, a perfect end to lunch. I felt full, but nicely so, and ready to return to work.

We had washed all this down with a couple of glasses of crisp white wine that was selected for us and rounded off our meal with pot of mint tea. There were petit fours, but we were defeated!

The House is in a very residential and quiet area of Chelsea and there is an atmosphere of dining in someone’s home which is rather refreshing. We had a lovely table by the window, which must be the nicest place to sit. I felt the room could do with a spruce up as there was rather a dated feeling about the interior. I could also imagine that if full, the atmosphere would be nothing like as relaxing and one might be sitting cheek by jowl with one’s neighbours, making private conversation difficult. I thought the three private dining rooms upstairs were most attractive, ranging in capacity from six to twelve diners.

With very attentive service under the watchful eye of restaurant manager, Dieter Jurgensen, The House is a restaurant that deserves praise and one to be revisited.

Louise Elgin - February 2000

Dine Online recommends The House for excellent value for money

The House 3 Milner Street London SW3 Tel 020 7 584 3002

Open for lunch Monday to Friday Noon to 2.30pm, dinner 6pm - 11pm and Saturday for dinner only.

Prices: set menus: lunch 3-courses for £14.50, dinner (same menu) for £21.00

Chef Graham Garrett, formally Executive Chef of Simply Nico and Nico Central.