Sharmila on Food

Bistrot Bruno Loubet, Clerkenwell

A lot can change in five years.

Five years ago I was finally (finally!) finishing my MA, working in a job I hated and starting to date some bloke I’d met when a little tipsy (to say the least) in the unisex toilets at Fabric. One of the first dates we went on was for dinner at The Zetter. I’m pretty sure it was a sort of London Eating or Toptable deal (I was a poor semi-student after all). I don’t really remember the food, but I remember having a nice time. So, cool, memorable room, not very memorable food.

Fast forward five years, and I find myself sat in the same room, but many many things have changed. I passed my MA, now work in a job I like and have a career of some sort, and happen to be about to marry that bloke I drunkenly started chatting to in those toilets of that nightclub. Such is life. On the restaurant front, well, the room is still very cool, very memorable. Thankfully, the food is now too. Bruno Loubet has most certainly worked his magic on the restaurant in The Zetter. This is food you love to eat, taking pleasure in each taste-flooded mouthful. I couldn’t help but enjoy myself. Even Janet Street-Porter, sat behind me, looked pretty happy. Who wouldn’t, with food this good?

I went a bit off-piste with my choices, opting for poultry for my first two courses (but thankfully not for pudding - I didn’t go that off-piste). For many people, poultry doesn’t get the pulse racing. However, this was poultry to the power of 10.

To start, guinea fowl boudin blanc with a creamy leek and chervil sauce. Well, gosh, this was great. Each mouthful was packed with intense, more chickeny than chicken flavour. The texture was mousse-light, the sauce tasted beautifully, intensely of leeks. I’m not usually one for meat turned into mousse and shaped like a fish or whatever. However, this was a stunning example of why all those French cheffy flourishes do have a place when done well.

To my right, nightclub toilet boy seemed extremely happy with his meatballs with snails and mushrooms.

On to mains, and the quail and pistachio dodine (I don’t even know what a dodine is) with asparagus and some kind of mash screamed out to be chosen. I dutifully did so. Again, I lucked out. This was just bliss. Slightly gamey quail with a nutty stuffing, which I’m sure must have had some smoked pork of some sort there. Each morsel married beautifully with the asparagus, which played an integral role, rather than just being some nice vegetable on the plate. I want to eat this again. Right now. The lamb with harissa on the other side of the table also looked pretty damn good.

A dilemma had arisen at the start of the meal as we realised we had gone for choices that called for distinctly different types of wine. The challenge was set with the sommelier, and he came up trumps, picking out a red (there was Syrah in there) that worked really well with both sets of dishes.

For dessert, I couldn’t help but ask if I could have the pernod floating island from the set sharing menu. I love floating island - meringue, custard, caramel = heaven. They readily agreed. And it was great. I wasn’t sure how the pernod would work, but after the initial unsure taste, it slowly worked its magic, the aniseedy flavour working well. The quince and apple millefuille was also another triumph. We had both done well.

And we were done. I can’t recommend Bistro Bruno Loubet highly enough. It’s been reviewed to death, but maybe there’s a reason for this. It’s damn good.

Details:

Bistrot Bruno Loubet

The Zetter

86-88 Clerkenwell Road

EC1M 5RJ

+44 (0)20 7324 4455

Nearest transport: Farringdon tube (Hammersmith and City, Circle and Metropolitan Lines)

Price: Mid-level (we paid £55 each with service and a very decent bottle of wine)