There are places that I hold a mild curiosity about. Then there are places that I’ve wanted to go to for a while. Lastly, there are those small number of places that I knew I absolutely had to make it my mission to go to. ‘Core by Clare Smyth’ was firmly in the latter category and had been long before it received its third Michelin star. I had read the rapt reviews in the press, and looked on with envy at those people I know who were lucky enough to get a table. Finally came my turn. We sold our house earlier this year and, for the moment anyway, had some money that was burning a hole in our pockets (obviously not true: but was a sufficient excuse I gave to myself to justify the outlay…). What better time to go to this temple of gastronomic hedonism?
I must say that my Core experience did not start in the most salubrious of fashions. A train journey in, rudely interrupted by a premature termination at Woking, which precipitated a rather frantic Uber journey towards west London. I called ahead to advise the restaurant of our likely tardy arrival and was crestfallen when they said that it probably meant that I would not be able to take the tasting menu and would have to go for the a la carte menu. I asked my Uber driver to make as much haste as he could. We arrived about 30 minutes late and I’ll be honest I was a bit flustered – this wasn’t the start to the meal I was hoping for – I have a pathological hatred of being late for things. The staff were lovely though; showed us to our table and told us that we would be able to have the tasting menu after all. Soon enough I had a glass of champagne in hand (Billecart-Salmon NV rosé – who we visited back in February and are now rather attached to) and everything felt a whole lot better!
The first dish from the tasting menu was their Isle of Harris Scallop Tartare served with sea vegetable consommé. As you can see from the photograph, the presentation of this dish was stunning. I loved the nod to the sea through the use of the shell, but I was really taken aback by the flowers underneath – I’m led to believe that the flower presentations were overseen by one of their waitresses, who has a passion for flower-arranging. We were told by the waiter that the restaurant worked with two divers called Alastair and Ben, who had been hand-diving scallops around the Isle of Harris for over 30 years. The scallops were served raw – I think they must have been the sweetest and juiciest scallops that I have ever tried. They were quite simply, magnificent. The consommé was made from a medley of sea vegetables and was pure and fresh, and packed in an incredible bouquet of flavours. To round matters off, there were some edible flowers and nasturtium leaves.
One of the things that I really was taken from during this meal, was how the restaurant looked to present dishes that seemed simple in their essence, but were actually incredibly thought out and executed. The next course was a case in point for this – ‘Potato and Roe’ served with Dulse Beurre Blanc, Herring and Trout Roe (below left). I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that this was the best potato that I have ever eaten, and when you consider how many potatoes we eat in our lives, that’s quite the statement! The potato is cooked overnight, confit-style in butter. The result is a texture that is at once firm (it doesn’t all fall apart), but also beautifully soft and juicy. The sauce that goes alongside the potato was rich and fragrant. The overall combination with the roe and the sauce is that you get notes of salt and vinegar coming through to complement the potato. Essentially this is a very clever, very elegant take on chip shop chips – apparently this is Clare’s signature dish and I can see why!
We were back on a fish course with the next dish – Roasted Cod served with Morecambe Bay Shrimps, Swiss Chard and Brown Butter (below right). I think the first thing that I was taken with when this plate arrived was the size of the cod that we’d come – it was a mighty fine thing! As you’d expect from this calibre of restaurant the cod was cooked immaculately. What made this stand out was the literal layers of flavours and textures through the dish – you can see from the photo that it really was cleverly constructed. I particularly liked the potted shrimp, which gave the dish a bit of a saline quality, which was a great foil for the richness of the brown butter sauce which was decadent and glorious.
At this point you may be thinking, ‘but what about the wine, Tim?’. I recently had a not great experience on the wine pairing at a nice restaurant (I’m still to publish that one, apologies!), so I had cooled from the idea of going for the wine pairing flights. Instead, I really wanted to get one excellent bottle of wine for us both to enjoy over the lunch (also, as this was lunch I was keen not to over-indulge…). To that end, I perused Core’s excellent wine list – there were many things that I was attracted to, but I was trying to think what would be a good wine to balance this incredible and varied menu. I nearly went for a northern Rhone white – the richness and structure would have held up well, I think. Instead, I opted for red Burgundy – and if you’re going to have Burgundy at a 3* restaurant then it really had better be Grand Cru, right? Enter a 2006 Chandon de Briailles ‘Clos du Roi’ Corton Grand Cru. The wine was incredibly expressive on the nose, notes of strawberry compote offset with a slight brambly flourish. I got a little foresty hawthorn profile a little too. On the mouth I felt it gave off a slightly Barolo vibe, with a bit of tar going on. There was an abundance of fruit there to and overall the wine presented beautifully. Although nearly 20 years old, you could tell that this wine still had a lot of life left in it. I was very happy with this selection.
So, back to the food. Next up we moved to another of the dishes that do the impossible in combining extravagance and complexity, with seeming simplicity – ‘Lamb Carrot’ served with braised lamb and sheep’s milk yoghurt. The carrot itself is slow cooked in a lamb stock to ’lamb-up’ (well, you can’t ‘beef-up’ a lamb dish can you?) the flavours in the carrot. This was then combined with fillet made from lamb neck on top. So far, so clever, but then it gets even cleverer. There is a pesto made from carrot tops to give the dish an extra dimension and then to continue the theme, the sheep’s milk yoghurt adds a really tart tang to the dish. All of these flavours combine beautifully to produce an excellent dish that on the face of it is simply ‘lamb and carrots’. This really is cooking of the highest order.
The last of the savoury courses was ‘Beef and Oyster’ made with Highland Wagyu beef and Porthilly oysters. The element combined are supposed to take you back to a beef and ale pie elevated, of course, to a 3* setting. The beef is made from Highland Angus cattle reared in the Wagyu style (Angus + Wagyu = ‘Wangus’ apparently!). The cut is sirloin and it is cooked superbly as you can see from the photo; the sauce is made from Guiness, a nod perhaps to Clare’s (northern) Irish roots. There was an additional oyster sauce on the side, which had been prepared with shin meet from the cattle to give it additional richness. At the back of the dish the oysters were prepared in a ceviche style and combined with an oyster cracker, which gave the dish that salinity that oysters really give you. This was another take on classic and humble food combinations – in this case harking back to a time when oysters were plentiful and considered a food that the poorer classes would have.
Time to move on to the sweets. We started with another Core classic – their famous ‘Core Apple’. Essentially the genius of this was that they took a classic toffee apple and turned it inside out. The inside was made from a kind of apple mousse infused with brandy, which oozed as you cut into it, but the outside had a taste of ripe apple. The overall effect was quite refreshing, I suspect the dish was created to cleanse the palate after the savoury courses. We paired our sweets with a glass of 2011 Chateau Suduiraut which was just joyous: beautifully heady and aromatic notes on the nose, combined with a rich luxuriousness on the palate, and a long, hedonistic finish. I found myself saying, ‘gosh, I really should drink more Sauternes’!
The last dish on the menu was another that will last long in the memory: wild strawberries served with meringue and lemon verbena. The strawberries were fresh, juicy and vibrant, but then you combined them with the other elements: verbena cream, elderflower jelly, morsels of meringue and then a strawberry sorbet hidden in the middle to cap it all off. It was one of those dishes that just made you smile as you ate it. It was quite simply the taste of the essence of summer on a plate and took you back to memories of childhood summers. What a wonderful way to finish off a fantastic dining experience.
I had long wanted to visit this restaurant, and sometimes those experiences that you have built up in your head in anticipation can not quite deliver in actuality. Core by Clare Smyth did not have that problem at all. I think it was heightened by the fact that I thought I wasn’t going to be able to have the full experience due to our issues arriving, that made me even more grateful for it. Of course, the food was exceptional – I really loved the combination of the complex with the simple. In addition, the staff were wonderful throughout – offering insight and warmth to the setting. If you have been thinking about going to Core – do not hesitate, you will not regret going!
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