Town, London WC2: ‘This place is a feeder’ – eating place assessment | Grace Dent on eating places

Off to Town this week, on Drury Lane. Yes, a cafe known as Town, one phrase, so slightly of a problem to search out on-line. Then once more, possibly by the point you’re as skilled and cherished a restaurateur as Stevie Parle, previously of Dock Kitchen, Craft, Sardine, Palatino and Joy, your common clientele will take the time to search out you. Parle’s shtick, kind of talking, is considerate, high-end Mediterranean cooking and heat, skilled hospitality, so the longer I considered him opening a brand new position in London’s theatre heartland and calling it simply Town, the extra it made sense.

Yes, Town could also be up on the much less lovely finish of this well-known highway, subsequent door to a Travelodge and within the shadow of the lesser-known Gillian Lynne theatre, however each time I pay attention the phrases “Drury Lane”, I’m whisked again to the inconceivable glamour of the beginning of the Royal Variety Performance at the BBC and other people in tiaras exiting Rolls-Royces. Drury Lane, the commentator used to mention, was once the glitzy epicentre of London the town, and Parle’s new eating place surely captures one of the crucial essence of that yesteryear ritz. It’s a large, gorgeous, ballsy, expensive-looking beast; a graceful, capacious, ever-so-slightly Austin Powers-esque, shiny-floored, caramel-coloured excitement palace. It has a brilliant, neon-green brightly lit open kitchen and thick three-D burgundy wall tiles that talk of pricy ceramic deliveries from the style of Italian provider that makes Kevin McCloud take hold of his face and sigh, “Well, this spells problems for the budget.”

Thankfully, the finances for Town’s decor – and what number of parts of deep-fried sage leaves they wish to promote to recoup it – isn’t my downside. All I do know is that I used to be having a jolly previous time from the second one I sat all the way down to sip on a unadorned flame non-alcoholic cocktail whilst feeling like Princess Michael of Kent circa 1988 hiding from a Royal Command Performance. And that was once prior to I’d even glanced on the menu to choose from Town’s cod and clam curry with mussels, rhubarb and ghee flatbread and the Welsh lobster with lardo and space XO sauce, or certainly discovered room for the morello cherry clafoutis with thick cream.

Town’s menu, I will have to alert you, isn’t for someone with a meek urge for food, or the ones hoping for a Slimming World Body Magic award by way of the summer season. Example: the recent, heat potato sourdough from the “snacks” segment of the menu comes with a bowl of bone marrow dipping gravy. Order Parle’s signature fried sage leaves, and so they’ll arrive drizzled with heather honey. If you try to cover away with the 100-Acre radishes, they arrive in a thick puddle of miso hummus. This eating place is a feeder. Other snacks are the likes of gildas, caviar with home made pork fats crisps and Coombeshead’s cured mangalitsa shoulder.

Initially, I suspected that Town may well be a pre-theatre eating place designed to scoop up vacationers looking for a deal, nevertheless it seems that the meals is some distance too excellent to hurry thru in an hour. And anyway, does someone in reality need to sit down thru two and a part hours of Much Ado About Nothing after devouring a whopping nice portion of elegant Kashmiri saffron risotto with but extra bone marrow, or an enormous red meat chop with seasonal onions, a wealthy, burnt apple sauce and scorching mustard? Both of the ones dishes had been finely accomplished, eminently devourable and teetering at the fringe of slightly bloody a lot. We shared a facet of pork fats purple fir potatoes that held excellent on their promise, as a result of every one got here enrobed in thick, bottom-of-the-tin, Sunday lunch-style pork fats.

Right now, Town is manageably quiet, nevertheless it received’t be for lengthy, and nor will have to it’s. Service is brilliant, crisp, artful and unobtrusive, and the costs are, dare I say, affordable by way of London requirements at the present time. There are 100 puts the place the hopeful theatreland diner will also be ripped off on this postcode, however Town to me is already a depended on buddy.

The dessert menu provides no let-up at the extra, further idea and ecstasy, both. We shared a unmarried scoop of light inexperienced Uji matcha ice-cream festooned in crunchy brittle and perched in a pool of candy miso caramel. Then, the famous person of the display, a hot-from-the-oven, damp, sticky cherry clafoutis served with a lot, a lot an excessive amount of clotted cream. Parle has taken to theatreland with any other sterling efficiency: an ideal first act, a robust heart segment and a totally gratifying denouement. Unmissable. Five stars.

• Town 26-29 Drury Lane, London WC2, 020-3500 7515. Open lunch Mon-Sun, noon-3pm; dinner Mon-Sat, 5-10pm. From about £60 a head à l. a. carte, plus beverages and repair