And the sun came out! Yes,
London was bathed in gentle sunshine yesterday so I was delighted to have
booked lunch at Devonshire Terrace (Devonshire Terrace, London EC2M 4WY) which
is a sweet informal restaurant near to Liverpool Street. I had specifically asked for a table outside
and was delighted to be led to one on the terrace in the fresh air and the
sun. Good start, I thought!
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| With thanks to thisisfunky.com |
My guest then arrived and we started to peruse the menu as we
sipped our Nelsons Estate Sauvignon Blanc.
As a patriotic South African, I could not imagine anything nicer than
this crisp white wine in the sun – unless of course, the wine was a little
cheaper. While, I admit the venue is
excellent, £28 seemed a little steep for a bottle which retails for around
£9.75.
The menu is eclectic
(but thankfully not schizophrenic), looking to cater for people who wanted a
light meal, a nice sandwich or a proper lunch.
This is a feature of many Corney
and Barrows so I was unsurprised to see that Devonshire Terrace is part of the
C&B stable. My guest chose Fresh
grilled tuna Niçoise and I went for the ginger and marinated red chilli slow
roast pork belly. We had additional bok choi with chilli as I
love this Asian green and I’m a bit greedy.
As it was a business lunch,
I refrained from reaching over and stabbing a fork full of the Niçoise but it
looked good. Nice piece of tuna, the
leaves looked well-dressed but not drenched and the potatoes and beans were
cooked to just the right crunch. So
there was a big tick from a happy business contact.
So when I dug into my
lunch, I was to be frank, a little disappointed. I could taste each of the ingredients –
except for the ginger or chilli that is.
The roast pork belly was lovely and there was a great shard of crackling
but there was no zing of chilli or heat from the ginger. I would also suggest that while I know that I
need to be careful with salt and pepper, I do actually want some involved in my
food – or at least the option to add some more.
Sadly, Devonshire Terrace appears to be a modern restaurant which doesn’t
believe in having these condiments on the table. The Bok Choi didn’t show any evidence of
seasoning or chilli either.
I had to order myself
a second glass of wine to console myself and we enjoyed this in the sun. The bill came to around £90 and while I felt
the food was overpriced, I was happy to pay the service charge as the waiter
service – while a little scattered – was charming and probably the best part of
Devonshire Terrace.
Great service, lovely
location but please lets season the food.
L x
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