Wild Honey, London

[david goodfellow]

Visited here last weekend, and really quite enjoyed it. I'm surprised that there are only three posts this year, surely far more egulleters are visiting and not bothering to post.

Will add my thoughts on our meal a bit later

[david goodfellow]

Tried a few times to get a table here but with not much luck, so I tried a bit harder and hey presto, success.

Parking was a doddle, virtually outside so off we go on the adventure

I like the room more than I thought that I would, especially the booths along one of the walls.

We looked at the bargain priced menu but it did not appeal, and in any event I had decided what to eat as soon as I read the menu. This is what we had.

Partridge and Foie Gras boudin blanc, green vegetable puree, wild mushrooms.£9.50

Terrine of Foie Gras, fruit relish, wet walnuts.£12.95

Bouillabaisse "traditional Marseille style" £19.95.

Slow cooked Venison, winter vegetables and crushed potato.£16.95

Clafoutis of Williams Pears, grated pistachio, vanilla ice cream. £6.95.

Wild honey ice cream, crushed honeycomb. £6.95

Two Americano £6.50.

The terrine was very tasty,(wifes choice) good relish with mini forest of leaves and some quite tasty bread which I should have noted a bit more, but did not.

My "white pudding" was extremely tasty, served from memory with a tasty rasher of fried ham? a huddle of mixed mushrooms, a garnish of micro herbs and a superflouse green puree which I can't remember.

The Bouillabaisse was the real focus for me, I am no expert but have eaten quite a few along the Cote- d- Azur the best being about a decade ago at Joseph in St Tropez. Now we have not had the Marseille version but there are so many variations on the theme that in my opinion the main criteria has to be the depth of flavour in the bouillon, and the fish used, I doubt very much the myriad of little fishes" pour la bouillabasse" available all along the Cote are available here. So is it possible to get the bouillon to the same flavor

Bouille (boil) and Baisse (lower the heat) sounds simple, but is it?.

A veritable feast arrived in various pots, easily enough for two(perhaps) first the bouillon an orangy brown bowl of fish stock, fennel, tomatoes, orange peel,onions, garlic, etc, etc,.

The fish was Cod, Pollack, and Gurnard, served in a separate dish with chunks of fennel, leek and potato.

The rouille was in a little saucepan, as was some mayo. The bread was sliced thinly and decent quality.

Part way into the dish the Lyonaisse manager Bertrand Lienafa came to the table and enquired as to what I thought, and truthfully I thought it was under seasoned and was just short of being very good indeed. We joked about my South of France jaunts and concluded that perhaps copious amounts of sunshine and copious amounts of alcohol on La Voile Rouge may have swayed my judgement somewhat. In fairness it was very good and considering the cost is about a half to a third of its equivilent abroad it is terrific value.

The Venison dish was much enjoyed by my wife, but I was so engrossed with my dish I can not comment to its quality.

Puddings were good quality, if not memorable, certainly worth taking.

Colin Kelly was in the kitchen and clearly knows what he is doing, we like his food very much.

As a footnote some of the dishes on the menu are in Anthony Demetre,s book " Todays Special" which I keep threatening to buy but have not as yet.

Both of us really enjoyed our visit here, it has a comforting feel, the food is fab, service is very good, whats not to like?

Go on, give it a try.

[PoppySeedBagel]

I went for lunch at WH the other day. It was superb - I like a restaurant that isn't afraid of good saturated fats. I started with smoked eel, served with boned and fried chicken wing and what they described as sweet & sour turnips. This was a fabulous combination of flavours and textures. The chicken wing was perfectly cooked, and the turnip seemed to be in a sort of brown butter sauce - not sweet & sour but still wonderful. I then shared rib of beef with my guest - WH's butcher must be the best in London(see comments on the hare above). This was very tender and very tasty - but we asked for it cooked medium and it was medium rare to rare. The béarnaise sauce lacked a little punch if I were being picky, as it failed to match up to the flavour of the meat.

I'd always go for an Americano coffee so you get a cup with handles, as an espresso comes in a daft little glass.

My only beef with this and Arbutus is that despite my having been to both of them a fair number of times, when I'm greeted it's as if I've never walked through the door before. I don't want to be fawned over, nothing like, but some sign of recognition would be nice (and apart from moaning about the coffee glasses I've always raved about the food in both them here!)

[Matthew Grant]

I went about a month ago for lunch - and it was sensational. My starter was crab which was nice but not outstanding. However my saddle of hare was stunning - perfectly hung & cooked, and amazingly tender. I camcall now how it was served as the quality of the meat stood out so much. My pudding was custard tart - crisp perfect pastry, with a rich and creamy filling, topped with lots of freshly grated nutmeg. Glorious. I wasn't paying, but from what I remember about the prices it was damn fine value given the quality of the experience.

I know that post was a while ago but I had hare at Wild Honey on Saturday as well and again the quality of the hare was very good, I remember hare dishes all the way back to Putney Bridge and they have always been excellent. Other highlights on the table were the smoked eel with boneless chicken wings, Plaice which had been stuffed with mushrooms and served with courgettes and artichokes, slow cooked shoulder of Venison with Polenta and a beautiful Beetroot salad.

Desserts are always good and pear clafoutis was a star dish, It wasn't something I fancied but I was left disappointed I hadn't ordered it after having a taste. Great cheese as well, including a great epoisses.

First visit in a long time and I wasn't left disappointed, it was as consistent as ever and beautiful looking dishes as well.

Edited October 10, 2011 by Matthew Grant (log)