Cornus

The mark of a good restaurant is that when leaving you say to your dining companion ‘we must come here again sometime’. The mark of an exceptional restaurant is that on the train ride home you are immediately booking a table to return within a few weeks. This is exactly what happened with a recent visit to Cornus – one of London’s hottest new restaurants. I went with a friend to have lunch in early December and we were blown away with the value that we got for their set lunch menu. It was £55 for three courses and was fabulous. We thought that we just had to come back, this time with my wife in tow too, for a ‘betwixmas’ lunch.

One of the reasons that I like fixed menus is that you often get the little nibbles and bites that you get on the full tasting menu thrown in as nice additional bonuses, alongside the reasonably priced plates that you are already getting. This was definitely the case here with a selection of amuse-bouches that were all expertly crafted (I didn’t take any pictures of them though, so you’ll have to take my word for that!).

For the starter I opted for their warm vegetable salad, bitter leaves, Piedmont hazelnuts, and pear. You can hopefully see from the photo (below, left) that this was a visually very impressive plate – the plating up process must be quite stressful to get all of the elements so artfully choreographed. I also really like the vibrant blend of colours on the plate too – it really ‘popped’ (to use a phrase more suited to an interior design programme). The combination of flavours on the plate was the most impressive thing for me though – slightly bitter notes from the raddichio, alongside sweeter notes from the fruit, which all worked together brilliantly against the pumpkin and beans. A salient reminder that salads aren’t just for summer and also how fantastic you can make vegetables when you make them the star of the show.

With the main course I picked the slow cooked Ox cheek, creamed potato, root vegetables, and red wine (above, right) partly because I knew that I wanted to have a particular wine with the dish (more on that in a second). The plate didn’t have the aesthetic appeal of the last course (not that it wasn’t prettily presented), but my goodness didn’t it pack a punch? The ox cheek was simply divine – just melted away as you ate it. You could have used a spoon to eat it it was that tender. What made it even better was the deep, rich, decadent sauce that was generously served on the plate, in combination with a luxurious mashed potato that I’m sure was about 50:50 on the butter to potato ratio. The addition of the little spheres of root vegetables gave a slight textural contrast on the plate. For a winter lunch, this is exactly the kind of plate that you want.

To the wine! When we last visited my friend and I were umming and ahing between a Brunello and a Cote-Rotie. Rockstar Head Sommelier, Mela Batti, advised us to have the Cote-Rotie on our previous visit (a 2017 ‘Les Schistes’ Clusel-Roch for those who are interested), which was absolutely the right decision. She did say “you have to come back for the Brunello though”, which is exactly what we did! It was a 2016 Capanna Riserva Brunello di Montalcino – with the 2016 being a particularly great vintage for Brunello (something I didn’t know at the time and only found out as part of writing up this piece). The wine was classic Brunello, the nose was redolent of beautiful red fruit, with just a hint of smokiness to it. On tasting the tannins were all very nicely integrated now – it was a really pleasurable wine to drink – still plenty of primary fruit notes that keep the wine supple, but with extra depth and richness from the age. It was just perfect with both the ox and the cheeses that were about to arrive…

Truly for £55 as a set menu this lunch menu represents exceptional value. My suggestion would be to get yourself there as soon as possible. I wouldn’t be surprised if they pick themselves up a Michelin star before long, and then you might find that prices (justifiably) increase. Get yourself there now!

Home