There's a Dilbert cartoon where perennially downtrodden Dilbert approaches the pointy-haired boss's desk with a suggestion, only to see a sign on the wall that reads 'if it were a good idea, someone else would have already thought of it'. We've suggested a few times in this blog that Michelin starred tasting menus can be somewhat formulaic but we understand that there's safety in predictability. But we at least love something different so there's relish for us in finding somewhere totally original, and 21212 is exactly that, totally original. But before we jump for joy, there's always the risk that such originality can badly backfire, so how would 21212 fare?
Indeed, the reason that 21212 is so called is because there's a five course menu with 2 choices on the first course, 1 soup, 2 choices on the main course, 1 cheese course and 2 desserts. But the menu itself reads more like a shopping list of ingredients and you're left wondering how it can come together as a coherent plate. Consider the following:
Slow baked fillet of young 'chicken' halibut, smoked salmon, red and yellow pimento squares, cherry tiger tomatoes, Thai sweetcorn, saffron egg pancakes, pink breakfast radish, yellow courgettes, piccalilli mayonnaise, apricot puree, capsicum, yeast sauce.
That's not the choice of starters, that's a single starter! Again, even with the same food on the plates, they could simplify the menu descriptions but they've chosen not to, the menu is supposed to take your breath away, it does. We also think that these must be huge plates of food to accommodate the sheer quantity of stuff listed, we've never seen a menu like it before.
We're also wrong footed by the premeal offered munchies, a bag of crisp brought to the table and emptied into a bowl at the table. We kept thinking 'what's the twist' here was but we didn't get it; most things here have something of a shock value. Bread too was different, pink in fact and amongst the many flavours that go into it are curry and cumin though for us, we didn't think the bread actually worked, too doughy and therefore too chewy and too heavy. But it confirms our suspicions, nothing tonight is going to be 'normal'.
Our choice of starters then is shown below.
Indeed, the reason that 21212 is so called is because there's a five course menu with 2 choices on the first course, 1 soup, 2 choices on the main course, 1 cheese course and 2 desserts. But the menu itself reads more like a shopping list of ingredients and you're left wondering how it can come together as a coherent plate. Consider the following:
Slow baked fillet of young 'chicken' halibut, smoked salmon, red and yellow pimento squares, cherry tiger tomatoes, Thai sweetcorn, saffron egg pancakes, pink breakfast radish, yellow courgettes, piccalilli mayonnaise, apricot puree, capsicum, yeast sauce.
That's not the choice of starters, that's a single starter! Again, even with the same food on the plates, they could simplify the menu descriptions but they've chosen not to, the menu is supposed to take your breath away, it does. We also think that these must be huge plates of food to accommodate the sheer quantity of stuff listed, we've never seen a menu like it before.
We're also wrong footed by the premeal offered munchies, a bag of crisp brought to the table and emptied into a bowl at the table. We kept thinking 'what's the twist' here was but we didn't get it; most things here have something of a shock value. Bread too was different, pink in fact and amongst the many flavours that go into it are curry and cumin though for us, we didn't think the bread actually worked, too doughy and therefore too chewy and too heavy. But it confirms our suspicions, nothing tonight is going to be 'normal'.
Our choice of starters then is shown below.
When the first course arrives, we're surprised. The serving bowls are normal size and everything is bundled together, a construction even rather than delineated, and given how many contributing ingredients there are, it's surprising how compact it all is. The second surprise is how well it all works. My smoked salmon on slow baked fillet of young 'chicken' halibut is precise, perfectly cooked and, quite simply, delightful. But it's some time before I reach the fish, there's cherry tomatoes, saffron egg pancakes, radish, courgettes and sweet corn (amongst other things) before then. But what this also means is that no plate is ever dull, there's too much going on and no mouthful is ever the same as the last.
Curry bread
Truffled mushroom risotto
Red & Yellow
The soup is, as we had now come to suspect, not a simple soup either. In three layers, from bottom to top: a vegetable puree, mushroom and potato cream, and on top, pasta, leek courgette and mushroom. It too works and because of that, delights more than it probably should.
The mains had similarly unusual titles, Seabass 3x3x3x3x3 and 'All Things White', it's constantly intriguing. The menu descriptions are again shown below.
The mains had similarly unusual titles, Seabass 3x3x3x3x3 and 'All Things White', it's constantly intriguing. The menu descriptions are again shown below.
When the mains arrive, the plates are again well sized, brimming over with ingredients and just by visual inspection, you're hard pressed to tell what the 'main' ingredient is let alone pull apart the long list of food stuffs in supporting roles. But again, it works, or mostly works. There's so much going on every time that it's almost impossible to provide a unified commentary on what you're eating for each time you take a bite, it changes: ten different elements on the plate mean that even combining only two of these together allows for up to 45 combinations (an order of magnitude more with three ingredients) but it does come together to produce an overall satisfying experience.
Seabass 3x3x3x3x3
All things white
Cheese is next and presented in a surprising fashion: instead of having a plate of cheese each, everyone gets one cheese on their plates with everyone then expected to share. It provides a surprisingly interactive and fun experience as cheese moves around the table, everyone comparing notes. The cheese too tastes great featuring amongst other things, Wigmore (ewe's milk cheese), Manchego from Spain and camombert in calvados soaked breadcrumbs; everyone has their favourites, mine's the creamy full flavoured blue. The biscuits come in a wide variety also and the variety adds to the enjoyment. It's hard to say exactly why but overall, this seems to me the most satisfying cheese course I've ever had, really.
Desserts follow in the earlier fashion, descriptions are again shown below.
We are paying less attention to the descriptions now because nothing is what you expect. Strangely, while the extensive list of ingredients promises to tell you so much, when the food arrives, you realise it has in fact told you very little. The "hobnob" cheesecake is not a traditional cheesecake (of course) but derives its identity from an egg custard with cottage cheese, the jumbo raisins forcefully present. It's true too of the trifle, so much more texture than what you might expect, multi layered and constantly changing up.
'Hobnob' cheesecake
Summer fruit trifle
This, our first visit to 21212, saw us travel a spectrum of emotion, excitement, fear (on seeing the menu) and satisfaction (on eating the menu). There were other emotions too because 21212 is not like other restaurants, and that should be commended and applauded. There was a huge risk that with so much going on in each and every plate that it could be a car crash of a meal but it wasn't in any respect, it all worked well and we doff our hats to Paul Kitching for being brave enough to risk doing his own thing when it would be so much easier to do the same thing.
Service was wonderfully friendly, indeed the Scots have been very friendly to us throughout our time here, though they were perhaps a little short staffed with, at the end, a lengthy waiting to have plates cleared from the table. This is though small fry as drinks flowed well from the equally friendly and engaging sommelier.
And then there's the room. 21212 is located in a refurbished Georgian townhouse and when we say that no expense has been spared in turning this into a chic modern restaurant, it's like saying that Kitching's food is interesting. The quality (and cost) of the interior seems close to an unprecedented scale. It is though something to be enjoyed .
Service was wonderfully friendly, indeed the Scots have been very friendly to us throughout our time here, though they were perhaps a little short staffed with, at the end, a lengthy waiting to have plates cleared from the table. This is though small fry as drinks flowed well from the equally friendly and engaging sommelier.
And then there's the room. 21212 is located in a refurbished Georgian townhouse and when we say that no expense has been spared in turning this into a chic modern restaurant, it's like saying that Kitching's food is interesting. The quality (and cost) of the interior seems close to an unprecedented scale. It is though something to be enjoyed .
In conclusion then, 21212 seems to offer the guests a challenging proposition but does itself rise to the challenge of satisfying a self imposed problem: how to combine so many ingredients in a single dish without it collapsing around its own complexity. Kitching is undoubtedly a singular talent and we certainly don't envy his brigade who must struggle to keep up with his creative fireworks, but as as a diner, we were absolutely delighted to enjoy the fruits of his labour and celebrate the fact that chefs like Kitching are prepared to take a road less travelled. Totally worth a visit, we loved it.
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