### [Cloth](http://www.clothrestaurants.com/)

44 Cloth Fair

London EC1A 7JQ

BY NEAL MARTIN | AUGUST 09, 2024

### The Food:

Pea purée, whipped ricotta on toasted sourdough bread

Grilled leeks with hens’ eggs and potted shrimp vinaigrette

Cornish Monkfish with squid and Scottish langoustine bisque

Tagliatelle with girolles, Parmesan and lemon

Fries with Espelette pepper

Tiramisu

**The Wine:**

2010 Dönnhoff Riesling Niederhäuser Hermannshölle Spätlese 94

Word on the street? There’s a new ‘wine-led bistro’ in town that’s the place to be and be seen. You hear that every week these days. Is that the same old media hype? The question is answered immediately upon entering its doors. No less than Egon Müller sits at the next table, dabbing his chin with a napkin, looking satisfied.

Now, if that’s not a sign that an oenophile is in the right place, tell me what is?

Cloth is packed and noisy. This is no surprise because the previous weekend, a couple of influential restaurant critics in national newspapers had sung its praises, thus prompting a tsunami of requests for reservations. Consequently, we could only obtain a two o’clock sitting, which was no problem because I enjoy a late lunch when the restaurant empties out, and you can relax.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1723215287368-cloth+frontage.JPG)

_The Cloth facade_

Cloth is located next to Smithfield Market in Farringdon, the hottest place in London right now. The cuisine of Brutto, [Bouchon Racine](https://vinous.com/articles/vinous-table-bouchon-racine-london-uk-apr-2024) and [St. John](https://vinous.com/articles/vinous-table-st-john-lodon-united-kingdom-oct-2020) is within sniffing distance. The Grade-II listed building nestles in a side street intriguingly named “Cloth Fair”, one that you would normally walk straight past. But as its name implies, it has a storied history...

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1723215335813-cloth+peas.JPG)

_Pea purée, whipped ricotta on toasted sourdough bread_

In medieval times, this was the location where fabrics were traded during the Bartholomew Fair each August. Part of the street survived the Great Fire of London in 1666. Hence, you will find two of the city’s oldest residences. Look up upon the wall above the entrance, and you’ll spot a blue plaque informing that poet laureate Sir John Betjeman once lived here. The frontage is painted black and dominated by large, mullioned windows. It looks old, almost Dickensian, so it fits in with the site’s historical backstory. The restaurant occupies the ground floor, divided into two parts with a bar at the rear. The décor is “smart rustic” with wooden floors, wood paneling, de rigueur dark olive hues, round marble tables and walls tastefully festooned with old paintings, maps and sketches. There’s an oddly rural ambiance. Perhaps being tucked down a side street, you feel as if you could be in the countryside rather than within earshot of St. Paul’s cathedral bells. It looks tasteful, and despite its nascency, it is lived in. The tagline on their website reads: “A modern take of the old, trusted classics”. It’s about sourcing the best ingredients, simplicity and bold flavors. Co-founders Joe Haynes and Ben Butterworth hail from the wine trade, while chef Tom Hurst previously worked at Marksman and Brawn, among others.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1723215370678-cloth+leeks.JPG)

_Grilled leeks with hens’ eggs and potted shrimp vinaigrette_

My dining partner and I shared dishes. For starters, a pea purée, whipped ricotta on toasted sourdough bread. Simple but deadly effective. Purée is not quite accurate – more roughly mashed peas. You don’t want to mess with this underrated vegetable – I adore the purity of taste, and here at Cloth, they shone on the plate. The whipped ricotta imparted a little sweetness, and the sourdough added a bit of crunch to the texture. I preferred this to the leeks that came with potted shrimp and vinaigrette. I like my leeks slightly more charred, as Tomos Parry does at Brat.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1723215402541-cloth+fish.JPG)

_Cornish Monkfish with squid and Scottish langoustine bisque_

I chose the Cornish monkfish, which came with grilled squid in a langoustine bisque. The fish's meat looked iridescent on the plate, always a good omen. This was fabulous: perfectly cooked, not one second too long or short, gently flaking away with the fork. The bisque was beautifully seasoned but did not overpower the fish, and the squid flavored and enhanced the bisque. Superb!

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1723215435396-cloth+taglietelle.JPG)

_Tagliatelle with girolles, Parmesan and lemon_

Perhaps the Cornish monkfish slightly outshone the tagliatelle with girolles, Parmesan and lemon. The girolles were very well cooked and flavorful, another simple yet effective dish. Our waiter suggested we order a bowl of fries that arrived generously coated in Espelette pepper. These were indeed excellent with just the right amount of crunch, although, to be honest, they were surplus to requirements, a bit of an awkward match with our mains. It did offer a chance to mop up the remaining bisque.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1723215466399-cloth+tiramisu.JPG)

_Tiramisu_

Now, I am going to make a bold and probably foolish statement…

The tiramisu was the best I’ve ever eaten. It was off the charts. Sometimes, I find tiramisu too sweet, but miraculously, this combination of decadence with a sense of restraint was perfect. We were given such a huge slab that I just couldn’t finish it. I looked at it longingly and apologized before admitting defeat.

As you would expect, Cloth has a stonking wine list with a tempting selection of wines by the glass. Monday, there’s a bargain five quid corkage. Many come from Haynes and Butterworth’s own wine import company, which is augmented by mature bottles bought from auctions. It’s not a heavyweight tome of blue-chip names, but there’s a bottle of La Tâche if you want to drop a few quid. We are in the financial district, after all. Within its soft leather-bound pages is a well-considered selection that I feared might veer too far towards natural wines. While there are a number of names that will appeal to those allergic to SO2, they intermingle with classics, leaning more towards the Old World than the New World. There is certainly a fine selection from Burgundy and Italy and, refreshingly, a decent selection from Bordeaux that increasingly looks like great value for money these days. Prices are reasonable, considering this is London, with a refreshing selection of mature bottles such as single-vineyard 2007s from Produttorri del Barbaresco or a 2000 Beaumont.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1723215502886-cloth+donnhoff.JPG)

But it was an obvious choice, and Butterworth’s face seemed to light up when we made our choice. The **2010 Riesling Niederhäuser Hermannshölle Spätlese** from **Dönnhoff** was a snip at £75. Glistening burnished gold in color, the bouquet encapsulates everything great about Riesling with a modicum of age: Satsuma, linseed oil, a hint of lychee and white peach, all delivering with scintillating precision and intensity. The palate is exquisitely balanced, quite powerful yet paradoxically elegant, with a precise bead of acidity that keeps this Spätlese on its toes. The residual sugar is such that it accompanied the fish and tagliatelle with style, just a hint of sweetness that complemented rather than distracted. This is drinking perfectly now and will cruise at high altitude for another decade.

Cloth is doing nearly everything right. Clearly, it has hit the ground running. Despite its central location, it has a cozy ambiance, and Butterworth, gadding about the restaurant, is a lively and pleasing presence. Its wine list will be a strong draw for oenophiles, while the food is not a secondary consideration. There’s no pretension, and everything is refreshingly straightforward in the best way. Even the opening hours are unfussy, Monday to Friday. Yes…a restaurant that opens on Monday! With that aforementioned corkage! The restaurant is closed at weekends, although it is open throughout the day, with bar snacks available in the morning and afternoon. Lunch for two with wine came in at around £100 per person. And here’s the real clincher… Set 3-course lunch is a trifling £24 for two courses and £29 for three. That possibly represents <u>the best deal in London at this moment</u>. With a constantly rotating menu, it’s one of those places that will keep tempting you back.

I have no doubt I will be returning soon.

_© 2024, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism._



Vinous Table: Cloth, London, UK

Vinous Table: Cloth, London, UK (Aug 2024)

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