Good_Things_Magazine_AprilMay_2017

goodthingsmagazine.com

OUT & ABOUT

24

D

on’t let Brunswick

House Café’s unlikely,

unwieldy location

opposite Vauxhall

Station deter you, because to

enter the 1758 Georgian house is

to enter another world.

You could walk directly into

the bar and enjoy a pre-prandial

Bi€ersea, but that would mean

missing the myriad rooms

housing architectural salvage

company Lassco’s beautiful

wares. Look, lust, linger. By

the time you dine, you’ll have

mentally spent your life savings

several times over.

Whoever your companions,

Jackson Boxer’s restaurant

is never less than a pleasant

prospect. But it’s also the finest

place in the world to fall in

love – so be warned, lest your

guest falls for you along with the

twinkly lights, cosy

atmosphere and that

hi‰gledy-pi‰gledy

French brasserie charm.

There’s nothing hi‰gledy-

pi‰gledy about the food; or indeed

the menus, which announce each

dish in an almost monosyllabic

meter. Andrew Clarke is a chef, a

magpie and a magician; plucking

ingredients from hither and

yon, pulling invisible threads

which unite them in strange

arrangements that make perfect

sense in the eating.

Take ‘crab, chicory, fermented

chilli, miyagawa’. Initially, I

translate the la€er ingredient –

a Japanese citrus – as ‘angels’,

because I feel as if those heavenly

beings are dancing on my tongue.

The seafood is sweet, the leaves

are bi€er, the chilli paste lends a

bright bite, and the whole lot is

brought together with a bang via

a sprinkle of aptly-named Indian

spice mix, gunpowder.

LB’s duck rille€es are declared

another genius assembly:

studded with black onion seeds,

served with shards of toasted

sourdough, crisp radishes in olive

oil, and a prune mustard whose

piquancy delivers a thrilling

back-of-the-nose sting.

Pumpkin agnolo€i for me,

Old Spot pork for him; although

the lines are blurred because

we’re one of those infuriating

couples who sit bus stop-style

and share particularly choice

morsels. In this case,

that’s everything.

Pickled walnuts and

watercress are a

stellar supporting

cast for the meat;

pasta is silken,

dressed with

raisins, sprouting

broccoli, pine nuts,

and sharp pecorino.

Predictably

delectable desserts are

entirely unpredictable in their

execution. Semi-frozen milk curd

cubes are artfully plated with

granola, candied tarragon and

frozen grapes; chocolate cremeux

features cardamom cream and

a voluptuous stout syrup that

renders the end of the evening

all the more bi€ersweet.

THE VERDICT

With fairytale interiors and

a dream team delivering

pitch-perfect food and

service, it’s hard to believe

a place like Brunswick House

Café actually exists. But it

does – so go.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Gannet-about-town Zoë Perrett reveals the restaurants you need to visit right now

Dining table

Dispatches from the

Brunswick

House Café

30 Wandsworth Road,

London SW8 2LG

brunswickhouse.co

Andrew

Clarke is a

chef, a magpie

and a

magician

Dispatches_DPS_MATT ZP_v3CATHY ZP.indd 24 01/04/2017 23:03