To The Modern Pantry in a Georgian townhouse building in St John's Square (right by Bruno Loubet's Bistrot in the Zetter hotel), Clerkenwell for Sunday late brunch. A lovely day, with pre-prandial drinks high up on an urban-living terrace then on to this great little restaurant that gives 'fusion cooking' (Pacific Rim) a good name. Very New York in style (open all hours, no airs and graces, just great food and great service - at last!).
Recognised by Michelin with a bib gourmand and the AA (2 stars), the prices reflect its popularity. However, when the food's this good then you never mind paying. Scallop sashimi with mustard seed, miso-marinated (or sugar-cured?) shrimp omelette with smoked chili sambal, tofu and sweetcorn fritters, onglet (skirt) steak cooked perfectly, casava chips with chili marmalade and creme fraiche, peach salsa, affogato made with great Caravan espresso coffee poured over Jude's hokey-pokey honeycomb 'ice-cream with soul', and much more...
Chef-owner Anna Hansen (UK New Zealander of the Year 2010) has a wealth of experience under her belt (she trained with London's originator of fusion cooking, Peter Gordon) and it clearly shows. When the food's this good it's time to push the boat out and I broke one of my main rules, by splashing out on a fine vino - but the company, location and food were too enjoyable to note the detail, just that it was a lovely, oaky 2006 Italian Barbera, worth every penny of the restaurant's mark-up. Service was excellent: friendly, generous and knowledgeable. Artwork ('A Visual Feast') from Selina Snow (see pics at bottom for a contrastingly arty take on British food). A joyful experience, bu wtf is umeboshi butter?
* Waitrose guest chef: Anna Hansen (link left to recipes, from Waitrose Food Illustrated Jan 2010 edition)
* Anna features in Coco (pub. Phaidon), a book showcasing 100 of the world's top up and coming chefs
* Matthew Norman hits the nail on the head in his Guardian review:
"...Low expectations can distort the critical judgment, the relief luring
you into inflating the competent into the outstanding, but by any
standards the Modern Pantry is a gem."
