Axis (bad) and Lindsay house (disappointing)

[Wilfrid]

I mentioned my recent dinner at St John on the Son of St John thread.  On the same trip, I also ate at Axis on Aldwych and the Lindsay House in Soho.

I went to Axis about a year ago, and found the food competent if over-fussy; for example, a decent rabbit dish really didn't licorice in the sauce, but at the same time wasn't spoiled by it.  This time, the meal was horrible.  Started with 'cullen skink', which should be a smoked haddock soup.  I am prepared to concede (having looked it up) that there need not be pieces of haddock in the skink, but this was just bad-smelling yellow liquid.  I hardly touched it, and no-one asked why.  Next was "hay baked" lamb.  Well, the lamb was fine, but who would know it had been near any hay?  The problem was, first, the brown gravy - yes, gravy - surrounding the little castle of mash on which the lamb was perched.  Then, before I could stop, the waiter ladled mint sauce into the gravy, turning the dish into a vinegary puddle.  Ugh.  I risked the cheeses, and they were okay (untouched by the kitchen).  Service was generally bemused.

I have follow Richard Corrigan's cooking with interest since he was in the rather dull space at the Barbican, and I have eaten his food at the Lindsay House many times since it opened.  For anyone who doesn't know, this is an eighteenth century terraced house in Soho.  Under previous management, it was richly decorated in the alleged style of the period - heavy curtains and dark oil paintings.  When Corrigan moved in, he stripped everything out, leaving bare boards and stark white walls.  That look, which has not changed, has always, I think, been at odds with the attempt to present fairly refined and luxurious cooking.

The last two or three times I've been, there weren't too many tables taken either.  Maybe it does a great lunchtime trade.  This time, I shared the downstairs room with two other people.  I rate Corrigan's pork and fish cooking very highly; but this dinner was imprecisely prepared.  Tiny seafood souffles were wrapped in sardine fillets.  Trouble is, they weren't fillets.  I don't mind sitting there pulling tiny bones out of sardines, but it made it impossible to eat the dish as conceived, with the tastes and textures of the sardine and souffle combined.

The entree was signature Corrigan stuff:  rabbit saddle stuffed with blood sausage, and rolled into little turrets.  Facing off from the other side of the plate, equivalent turrets made by layering polenta, rabbit kidneys, and the liver.  Rich mashed potato in a side dish.  I have loved such plates in the past, but here someone had gone crazy with the salt.  A pity.  Very good cheese plate, this time, with a number of Irish selections.

Has anyone else been to the Lindsay House recently?  Don't tell me Corrigan has lost it.  I had the feeling that he might be bored and ready to move on.

[Simon Majumdar]

I have not been to Axis for 31/2yrs so can't really comment except to say that when I did go I had an able if not exciting meal.  I found the service very efficient and friendly.  Strange room though

The Lindsay House was one of the worst meals I have ever had.  Shoddy service and very ordinary food.  I would not rush back

S

[Andy Lynes]

I had a very disappointing meal at Lindsay House which I reported on here, but I didn't like the room, the service and some of the food. I certainly didn't like the bill!

I haven't eaten at Axis since it opened when I had some lovely food but the place was so freezing we couldn't stay for dessert.

[cabrales]

I had a very disappointing meal at Lindsay House . . . . I didn't like the room, the service and some of the food. I certainly didn't like the bill!

The Lindsay House bill can be moderated when one chooses pre-theater dinners, which offered certain decent dishes the two times I visited. The service can be quite rapid, and the location of the restaurant close to Shaftsbury Avenue makes it fairly easy to access certain theater venue afterwards.  ;)

[Matthew Grant]

I also had a terrible meal at Lindsay house and wouldn't give it another chance. I can't remember the last time I saw a positive review on it. The more I read about it the more I believe that it is an average/poor restaurant that strikes lucky on a few occasions (when Richard Corrigan is in attendance perhaps).

[Wilfrid]

Anyone know what Corrigan's up to?  Is he not usually in the kitchen?  The remarks about the Lindsay House sadden me, because I had him marked as a very talented young chef.

[Matthew Grant]

Blimey, as if on cue! Fay Maschler went to Lindsay house this week and gave it a 2 star rating, although the review itself didn't sound that great and mentioned a poor dish cooked in his absence.

The review is here.