Lardo di Colonnata
Shoreditch is one of those area that is fashionable, edgy, loved by some but definitely off the grid for others. It's also home to Brawn which, as its name suggests, participates in the renaissance of Anglo-French rustic food, simple plates to emphasise flavour of sometimes less popular cuts and a broad selection of charcuterie. Like St John, their motif is a pig and one section of the menu is in fact simply labelled, 'Pig'. With St John Bread & Wine so close (a mere 1.2 miles away, 3 minutes by car!), these two restaurants will be unable to avoid comparison and must more often than not be competing for the same diners. That said, a full restaurant on the Thursday night after Xmas suggests there's enough business to go around and that Brawn is already anchored on the London foodie map.
Six of us were sitting down to dinner with five of the party chefs or former chefs including a Michelin star winner. You could say that this was a tough table for any restaurant.
With everyone wanting to try a bit of everything, we ordered from across the menu with all plates going in the middle for everyone to try. There was a broad consensus around both the food and individual dishes. Overall, this was a restaurant that we liked and did a number of things well; it also did a few things less well. The biggest single issue that came up again and again with everyone in agreement was that the food was under seasoned. While there was no salt and pepper on the table, we ended up asking for some and most felt a need to additionally season the food. We wonder how much better it could have been had it been seasoned before and during the cooking process.
We started with the Anchoiade & Breakfast Radish, a dish that was tickled pink by as he imagined the margin on half a dozen radishes. At £3 for the plate though, this would neither break our bank nor make theirs. The lardo was a hit across the board. The terrine went down well with the predominance of liver tastes to people's liking though seasoning was of course raised. This was especially true on the pork rillette where it was good but could have been great if it had been better seasoned.
The Boudin noir raised some debate on both texture (too crumbly) and creaminess with some not liking its sweeter notes. With the runny egg, potatoes and the textured salt on top, it was for me at least one of the best boudin noirs I've tasted. I should add that despite the debate, both orders of the boudin noir were finished and clean plates sent back to the kitchen.
The clams too were consumed in full at some pace with no real complaints by anyone around the table, just the hushed silence of enjoyment.
Six of us were sitting down to dinner with five of the party chefs or former chefs including a Michelin star winner. You could say that this was a tough table for any restaurant.
With everyone wanting to try a bit of everything, we ordered from across the menu with all plates going in the middle for everyone to try. There was a broad consensus around both the food and individual dishes. Overall, this was a restaurant that we liked and did a number of things well; it also did a few things less well. The biggest single issue that came up again and again with everyone in agreement was that the food was under seasoned. While there was no salt and pepper on the table, we ended up asking for some and most felt a need to additionally season the food. We wonder how much better it could have been had it been seasoned before and during the cooking process.
We started with the Anchoiade & Breakfast Radish, a dish that was tickled pink by as he imagined the margin on half a dozen radishes. At £3 for the plate though, this would neither break our bank nor make theirs. The lardo was a hit across the board. The terrine went down well with the predominance of liver tastes to people's liking though seasoning was of course raised. This was especially true on the pork rillette where it was good but could have been great if it had been better seasoned.
The Boudin noir raised some debate on both texture (too crumbly) and creaminess with some not liking its sweeter notes. With the runny egg, potatoes and the textured salt on top, it was for me at least one of the best boudin noirs I've tasted. I should add that despite the debate, both orders of the boudin noir were finished and clean plates sent back to the kitchen.
The clams too were consumed in full at some pace with no real complaints by anyone around the table, just the hushed silence of enjoyment.
Spatchedcock quail, Romesco
Boudin noir, Lyonnaise potatoes, fried eggs
Crepes, salted butter caramel
Of the dishes that were less well liked, a majority verdict of chefs agreed that cream or milk had been added to the polenta putting most people off and this was one of the plates that wasn't cleared, only nibbled at. The bread too came under fire and with the menu showing that the bread is sourced from e5 bakehouse, we challenged the waiter on provenance only to learn that because of the Xmas break, this was not in fact e5 bread but something a bot more generic. Someone offered up Tesco.
Where there was universal criticism was the desserts where the floating island, lemon tart and crepes with salted butter caramel were ordered for the table. With six people around the table, not a single dessert plate was finished. Everybody felt that these desserts were bought in and that 'pre-made' quality came through. The floating island was excessively sweet. The salty caramel bits sprinkled over completely missed on salty caramel notes and were just overly crunchy. The recent floating island at Arbutus was significantly better executed.
The lemon tart was acceptable but felt very supermarket shelf. The crepes with the salted butter caramel had a slightly chewy texture and again missed the balancing saltiness. Disappointing.
Where there was universal criticism was the desserts where the floating island, lemon tart and crepes with salted butter caramel were ordered for the table. With six people around the table, not a single dessert plate was finished. Everybody felt that these desserts were bought in and that 'pre-made' quality came through. The floating island was excessively sweet. The salty caramel bits sprinkled over completely missed on salty caramel notes and were just overly crunchy. The recent floating island at Arbutus was significantly better executed.
The lemon tart was acceptable but felt very supermarket shelf. The crepes with the salted butter caramel had a slightly chewy texture and again missed the balancing saltiness. Disappointing.
Some hits and some misses then. With most of the misses on desserts, if you're happy to pass over on these and are in the mood for their core offering, they do pretty well. If as we have suggested they will suffer from endless comparison to St John Bread & Wine, how then did it fare? We preferred SJBW where the food was better seasoned, more plates were 'winners' and only the Swede cake went back to the kitchen without the plate being cleared. That said, we're sure Brawn is good enough to win a loyal following and will no doubt do well both because of its location and despite its location. We see ourselves returning.
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Related post: St John Bread & Wine
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Related post: St John Bread & Wine
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