FW: Salt Yard (tapas) - London, England (7.5/10)

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Feed: World Foodie Guide
Posted on: 19 July 2009 00:00
Author: admin
Subject: Salt Yard (tapas) - London, England (7.5/10)

Background: After sampling Salt Yard's smoked swordfish with crushed potatoes and orange vinaigrette and stufffed courgette flowers at Taste of London recently, I placed the tapas bar firmly back on my London restaurant wishlist. It has a Bib Gourmand from Michelin - an award to recognise 'good food at moderate prices', and when I announced on Twitter that I was heading there for lunch with a friend, I received some excited tweets in response. So it was with high expectations that I walked through the door. It's not a large space (I never wandered downstairs where there is presumably more seating), with several bar stools around the bar and some small tables, but it's modern and buzzy, with a pleasant lunchtime atmosphere (by that I mean conducive to conversation and not overly loud). Our waitress was friendly, helpful and efficient, and it seemed that we were all set for a superb tapas lunch. What we ordered: Courgette flowers stuffed with Monte Enebro cheese and drizzled with honey (£7.25) - this is one of Salt Yard's signature dishes (see top photo) and one that many rave about. I had a nibble of this at Taste of London and was bowled over by it. It's such a simple dish and yet the combination of the bold flavours works so well. A 'must order' item and one I want to replicate at home with my garden courgettes Chargrilled lamb leg with roasted and marinated courgettes and ajo blanco (£7.25) - I was expecting to love this. Again, the flavours worked really well together, and I love the use of ajo blanco with lamb (Fino served an incredible lamb cutlet with ajo blanco at Taste), but I found the lamb a little tough and chewy Patatas fritas with romesco and alioli (£3.50) - this was a great little dish and came piping hot. Perfect while waiting for the next tapas to arrive and highly recommended Smoked swordfish carpaccio with crushed potatoes and orange vinaigrette (£5.75) - I loved this at Taste, but at Salt Yard, it was surprisingly underwhelming. I'm comparing the two photos as I write this review - Salt Yard version at Taste and this version - and distinctly remember the former being a spectacular little dish, with plenty of dill and potatoes to complement the smoked swordfish Gressingham duck breast (a daily special) (£6.25) - this was probably my least favourite dish. I am a huge fan of duck cooked any kind of way, but this was tough and chewy like the lamb Line-caught tuna carpaccio with baby broad beans and salsa verde (£6.50) - high up on my list of recommendations, and very thinly sliced compared to the smoked swordfish carpaccio. A light and fresh dish, perfect for the summer and something I would definitely order again cherry & almond cake with salted caramel ice cream (£5.25) - the cake was superb, but the salted caramel ice cream, which on its own or accompanying something different would have been lovely, simply clashed with it. My friend ended up eating first the cake, then the ice cream, while I felt guilty for having suggested it rhubarb & mascarpone custard crema catalana (£5.25) - a daily special, I didn't quite hear the lengthy description, but I'm almost certain it was a crema catalana and rather delicious too, with a perfect crunchy burnt caramel topping. Having ordered too much food, I did however struggle to finish it… The verdict: Some dishes were excellent - stuffed courgette flowers, patatas fritas, tuna carpaccio and the crema catalana, but others weren't so great, namely the smoked swordfish carpaccio, chargrilled leg of lamb and Gressingham duck breast. Perhaps I was also making a subconscious comparison with one of my favourite restaurants Barrafina, the reason why I rarely venture out to other tapas places.  However, I did like everything else, including the atmosphere and service. I also like that Salt Yard features a monthly recipe on their website - the current one is Roast Organic Sea Trout with Mousserons, Pea Shoots and Truffle Vinaigrette.  Salt Yard is centrally located and convenient for most to reach, the portion sizes reasonable for sharing and the service efficient and friendly. I'm sure I'll return to Salt Yard with friends one day. Lunch for two without alcohol cost £53 (including service charge). The rest of the Salt Yard photos are on Flickr and can be viewed here. 10 - Perfection, 9.5 - Sensational, 9 - Outstanding, 8.5 - Superb, 8 - Excellent, 7.5 - Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 - Average All the London restaurant reviews on World Foodie Guide Contact details: Salt Yard 54 Goodge St London W1T 4NA Tel: 020 7637 0657 info@saltyard.co.uk http://www.saltyard.co.uk/ Opening hours: Monday to Friday 12 Noon to 11pm (3pm until 6pm bar snacks only) Saturday 5pm to 11pm Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide

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