Back at The Clove Club after only a month.
It started with a warm but refreshing broth made of five herbs and then followed by a super delicate pakora. The batter was crispy and light, the fish perfectly cooked and the spices super balanced. Such a delicious bite!
The delicious appetisers that followed:
And then the real dishes started to arrive:
Such a delicate creation! The sweet and melting almond granita with delicious datterini tomatoes grown up on the vulcanic soil of Vesuvio.
A delightful sea bream sashimi accented with cheries, olives and kombu. Super delicate yet burtsting with umami.
This is one of the all times favourites. While a month ago I had the new version with raw scallop which I really loved, this time we had the classic version where the scallop was perfectly cooked – nicely seared outside and sweet and joicy in the core. Truffle paste, mushrooms and clementine were elevating this dish into a masterpiece. I love both versions equally.
This is a new version of the sardine sashimi. One month ago it was without peppers and focused only on ginger as the “topping”. While in previous one the sardines took all the attention, now peppers take the main role as the strongest flavour in this combination. If you are a purist, you may like the previous version more, but both are definitely enjoyable.
An amazing dish. Sweetnes of the lobster is so beautifully balanced with the freshness and slight bitterness of the pomelo. Bitterness is so rarely used flavour in Britain and yet, if used well, so refreshing and an appetite opener!
I never had this dish before, but it’s delightful. It is usually part of the vegetarian tasting menu at The Clove Club. If all vegetarian dishes are as good as this one (which I don’t doubt) I should one day go fully vegetarian at this restaurant. A beautifully delicate creamy aubergine with cheese and green tomatoes. Can it get any better?
I always say I find many of the mains boring as chefs often simply go by “let’s do meat with potato and two vegetables”. This was not the case here. We had the most delicate venison (melting soft, perfectly cooked) with a beautiful sauce and mushrooms. Mains don’t need to be boring!
So simple yet so impressive. Beautiful spiciness of habaneros, freshness of ice and depth of damsons. A stunning palate cleanser!
If you could eat a cloud it would taste like this dessert at the Clove club! The loquant kernel mousse just disappears when it touches the tongue. It is super light and super delicious. In the heart it hides a secret. An intense apricot sorbet. A love story between the two which ends in a perfect harmony when eaten together.
About the delicious strawberries, I let you listen to Ira:
A lunch that puts The Clove Club again between my all time favourites.
Shoreditch Town Hall,
380 Old St, London EC1V 9LT