Sedap. 'Rightly popular and extremely noisy.'
Welcome to the weekly round-up of the national restaurant critics by Oliver Thring
Sedap is ‘rightly popular’ according to Fay Maschler, though it can also be ‘extremely noisy’. ‘Service is utterly charming’ at this no-frills Old Street Malaysian. Char kway teow (flat rice noodles) was ‘one of those dishes I might give as an answer to “What would you like for your last meal on earth?”‘. ‘There is considerable scope for vegetarians’, too.
Allan Jenkins is at the legendary (and, in my opinion, really not all that good) Chilli Cool. Sea spicy shredded pork was ‘a wonderfully complex and accomplished plate of food’ and vegetarian dry fried beans ‘didn’t disappoint’. ‘Chilli Cool offers real cooking at near-café prices.’
Matthew Norman is at Koffmann’s – did you know Pierre was back? ‘These are big dishes, big on flavour, mighty on texture, magnificent in their generosity.’ The stuffed trotter is ‘gob-smacking’ and mashed potato is ‘extraordinary, ethereal’.
Giles Coren: Redhook’s ‘steaks are beautiful, with excellent fries and good Béarnaise, but they haven’t quite got the hang of the whole shellfish thing.’ The place is ’80% of the way to excellent’.
Zoe Williams reckons there’s a ‘courtly feel’ to Roux at Parliament Square, and ‘the formality is unbreachable’. A tube of crab meat was ‘tasty, subtle and enjoyable’, roast lamb was ‘fussy’ and puddings were ‘picture-perfect’. ‘I cannot see this place ever commanding the same loyalty’ as Le Gavroche.
Paramount’s menu ‘looks like one from an international hotel chain,’ says Marina O’Loughlin. A sweet pea risotto ‘defined bland’, but foie gras with duck and pastilla was ‘good’. The bill is ‘as stratospheric as the location’.
Lisa Markwell is at The Pass, near Horsham in West Sussex, whose daft-sounding gimmick is that there’s no dining room: everyone eats in the kitchen. Pea velouté was ‘blinding’ and chicken liver parfait ‘a thing of beauty’. ‘[Matt] Gillan is one to watch – whether you’re sitting in the kitchen or not.’
‘A marathon of silly pretension’ is AA Gill’s verdict on Viajante. The food is ‘muddy, haphazard, careless, clumsy and boastful’, and ‘everything is rather difficult to eat’.
Tracey Macleod is at Flinty Red in Bristol, ‘more bare bones bistro than restaurant’. A pork chop ‘didn’t have quite enough char’ and a piece of grey mullet was rather ‘delicate’. But the place is ‘adventurous and eager to please’.
Blogger Rejina Sabur (aka Gastrogeek) has ‘one of the tastiest pizzas I’ve had in yonks’, delivered to her door from Due Sardi on the Kingsland Road. ‘My olive, anchovy, caper and tomato pizza was an absolute delight.’
Fay Maschler is right.