A la Colthard/Noble Rot
I have only heard good things of Noble Rot.
It was once the site of The Gay Hussar in Greek Street where the hand of many a Labour MP, well-fuelled on Bulls Blood, wandered to my thigh!!!
The cuisine was Hungarian and it was a well-known restaurant in the Soho scene particularly favoured by the Left.
The manager, a somewhat unctuous fellow, always seemed to be going or coming back from a memorial service.
Sadly it went under and Noble Rot – originally wine merchants – took it over with some lip service to the Hungarian cuisine but essentially a new look.
Their food and wine list were sensational and its reputation is well-deserved.
There were three of us and we ordered the signature dish of a whole roast chicken in a yellow sauce. It was cooked and served in a bouillon so the chicken jus merged into the sauce.
It was simply scrumptious and illustrated how cooking can be both simple yet succulent.
I had smoked mackerel before and a panna cotta with roosted fig for pud. Both tasty.
It’s known for its award-winning wine list and rightly so.
Remembering my guests enjoy rose we had a bottle of the Xinamavrou Greek variety which was approved, followed by two bottles of Gruner Veltliner.
My only complaint is that being a small narrow restaurant with tables down each side – all taken – it was extremely noisy and I had difficult hearing my guests.
It’s not a “first date” place, nor one for business dining.
It was hard to evaluate the crowd: they were young, diverse and not smartly dressed.
We were the only ones in jackets.
The service was exemplary though it took some time to produce the rose.
It’s about £100 per head which, given the quality of the wine, was fair.
It’s here to stay though next time I will go for lunch.
