being with Anthony Bourdain
on this hot-button subject (do
look it up), I don’t order it. But
the pals, who couldn’t give less
of a fig, are ecstatic. All I’ll say
is that I’ve never before heard
such noises of delight issue
from either of them. Ever.
When people who are
50-plus open restaurants they
tend to be more on the mine-
hosting side of things, propping
up bars, getting high on their
own supply, not — as this pair
are doing — running the whole
rammed place single-handed.
(I think there might be a pot-
washer, but that’s it.) Reid not
only cooks but brings dishes to
tables. Slowik, in his lilac shirt
and cravat, is the most urbane,
silver-foxy front of house. We
ask for a wine recommendation:
“Your budget?” he purrs,
“£3,000? £4,000?” How
about £14.99, I say. “I’ll just
nip out to Tesco.” We probably
wouldn’t have ordered ourprobably to check out their
homage to his canonised pig’s
trotter dish. Reid and Slowik
have actually done it: the
perfect neighbourhood bistro.
I’m so keen to check out this
delicious anomaly that I trek
all the way up Crouch Hill. Oh,
shoosht: I’ve never been here
before in my puff and with a
combo of trains upon trains,
buses and schlepping (there’s
no Tube), I could have done a flit
to Gretna Green in about the
same time. Was it worth it?
Hell, yes. As soon as day dawns
the morning after our visit to
Les 2 Garçons, I get an email
from one of the pals, a local:
“Don’t review it,” she says, “or
I’ll never get a table.” I’m torn,
in truth — it’s so unspoilt. So
I can only apologise to her and
suggest that you don’t go. No
really, don’t. We’ll all just ruin
this perfect tiny thing n
Twitter: @marinaoloughlin
Insta: @marinagpoloughlinHOW MUCH?
Starters £4.50-£12.50
Mains £16-£28.50Total for two, including
wine and 12.5% service
charge £129Muscadet sur Lie, but it’s a
perfect suggestion.
Chefs who have been through
the fine-dining mill seem to go
two ways: either — as some
would say this duo’s former
boss, White, has — off to a
lucrative life of brand whoring
or lending a name to charmless
chain restaurants. No great
mystery why, of course. But on
the rare occasions I talk directly
even to big-name chefs about
their ambitions, this is the kind
of outfit that makes them go all
starry-eyed. The Frenchest of
all UK French chefs, Pierre
Koffmann, has already been,THOMAS ALEXANDER
PLATE OF
THE NATION
Papo’s Bagels
The £5 national delivery fee
on these bagels might nudge
them in the direction of the
luxury bracket. But I’m of the
firm opinion that good bagels
are luxurious. Papo’s Bagels
falls into the category easily,
with its “bundles” (a selection
with “schmears” — flavoured
cream cheeses — and
smoked salmon) reaching
an enthusiastic £65.
A single bagel costs a
gentler £1.50 and is a lovely
thing. Fat and pneumatic,
with shiny crusts and unusual
airiness of crumb, they’re
fine as they are. Toasted,
they’re next level: a pleasing
waft of yeastiness, crust
transforming into something
like a bready version of the
one on crème brûlée. Biting
in, even with nothing spread
on top, there’s a beguiling
impression of brown butter.
These purport to be
the real New York deal —
“the lovechild of two
New Yorkers”, chef Gabe
“Papo” Gomez and Georgia
Fenwick-Gomez; the former
makes them all by hand
daily, they say. I now have
a freezer full of onion, salt,
sesame seeds and everything
(my favourite). Luxury. MO’LPapo’s Bagels, £1.50
each, bundles from £40;
paposbagels.comThe Sunday Times Magazine • 45