Restaurants: Noble Rot Soho
Went to the soft opening of Noble Rot Soho last night. It’s the second restaurant from the Dan Keeling/Mark Andrew duo who also have a magazine and a wine import agency. [Disclosure: because this was a soft opening, the food was comped.]
The new restaurant is on the site of the Gay Hussar, a Hungarian restaurant which in its time was quite the place for plotting politicians to meet. An institution. It closed in 2018. Keeling and Andrew have renovated it sympathetically keeping some of the spirit of the predecessor.
We ate in the beautifully appointed ground floor dining room: there’s also a first-floor dining room, and the top floor is where the wine is cellared.
The menu takes a nod to the Hussar’s Hungarian roots, with the eggs casino and a goulash. But it also has a similar sort of feel to the menu from the Lambs Conduit Street Noble Rot: you want to eat everything. And it’s not at all predictable.
But the wine list!! It’s astonishing in its depth and scope. It’s fairly priced, too.
So what did we eat?
Eggs Casino. This is fabulous. The anchovy!
Choux Buns, Duck Liver Parfait & Tokaji Jelly. The perfect combination of sweet and savoury.
Veal Tartare, Ceasar’s Mushroom, Ossau Iraty & Autumn Truffle. This was a surprise. Complex, layered and delicious.
Palourde Clams, Turnips, Saucisson & Riesling. They may only be tiny, but these were really good, and worth the effort.
Roast Chicken, Morels & Vin Jaune, Riz au Pilaf: this was spectacular. It’s a signature dish in the making. £70, but happily serves 3. How can chicken be so perfect?
The wine? We chose the Ganevat Plein Sud Trousseau 2018, which is astonishing and silky and elegant and fine. Great to find it on a wine list at a very respectable £71.
Then to finish we had two desserts: Armagnac Baba & Whipped Cream; and Chocolate Mousse, Brandy Prune & Hazelnut Biscuit. Both lovely.
So good to have a second Noble Rot in town. Website: https://noblerot.co.uk/soho-information
