27 Bruton Pl
London, UK
W1J 6NQ
BY NEAL MARTIN |
The Food:
Amuse-bouche: miniature Coronation chicken, salmon and pea tartlet, Comte filled doughnut with truffle, malt tart of deer heart with shredded carrot
Tanera Island hand-dived XXL scallop, Alsace bacon, kombu in a roast chicken jus
Slow-roasted lamb with onion, peas and lamb jus
Gâteaux Nantais with Alfonso mango sorbet, jackfruit with exotic garnish, crème Anglaise
Petit fours
The Wines:
I never published one of my best meals in 2023. That’s because it took place in a private test kitchen for chef Larry Jayasekera, who was then trialing dishes for a brand-new restaurant, The Cocochine. At that point, the erstwhile photographic studio was hidden by scaffolding, the building gutted, and the entire roof reconstructed. Even the electricity mains had to be upgraded. Stepping over tentacles of cables, I enquired when he planned to open.
“November,” Jayasekera replied, sangfroid.
There are many aspects of The Cocochine that I enjoyed, not least the quality of ingredients and execution. Perhaps the menu plays it safer than I was anticipating. Maybe that was because of my own choices - an observation rather than a criticism. There was something comforting about the dishes encountered at the test kitchen, and this translated onto the menu in terms of failsafe combinations, but that precluded a knockout dish where I wanted to jump up onto my chair and praise the epicurean gods above. I won’t find a better scallop or lamb this year.
