of Dinner, a restaurant I found
chilly, formal and dedicated to
production-line perfection rather
than anything more meaningful.
Once you’ve had the meat fruit
and gawped at the steampunky
pineapple griller, it’s a place for
rich tourists.
There are shades of that chilly
perfectionism here — each
dish seems engineered to be a
barnstormer. What’s undersold
as “mussels, smoked bacon,
lemon” comes in a sauce with
the texture and thrilling
intensity of southern Thai curry.
Cauliflower croquetas, looking
like physalis with their papery-
fried cauli leaves, honk of many
cheeses and taste almost meaty.
Perhaps a hangover from the
pandemic but I’m now less
keen on sharing plates, where
everyone’s cutlery scrabbles
away at the same serving.
Sometimes it works — those
ribs; sometimes it doesn’t:
sweet crabmeat with samphire,are falling upon it delightedly.
Ultimately Fallow has a weird
effect on me. Discussing it later
in a nearby bar (ejected from
the Rivoli at the Ritz owing to
the pal’s expensive not-quite-
trainers; is it Mayfair again?),
we both say, “Brilliant food,
not sure I’d go back.” But the
experience stays with me, the
chew of those ribs, the ripe,
doughy squelch of the bread,
the genius of that trout, and
I find myself wishing we’d
ordered more — even if it
would have meant closer to
a ton a head. I want to try the
45-day dry-aged dairy cow,
the crisp-layered boulangère
potatoes, a burger that’s more
curated than just cooked, the
bone marrow brioche. I wish
we’d ordered kombu fries to
scoop up the crab. So I’ll go back,
Mayfair, St James’s, wherever.
Fallow: turns out it’s a grower n
Twitter: @marinaoloughlin
Insta: @marinagpoloughlinPLATE OF
THE NATION
KFC Original
Recipe Vegan
BurgerWhere there are vegans,
especially young vegans,
the fast-food titans are never
far behind. And here’s the
Colonel’s gang with their
contribution. It had a limited
run previously (under the
moniker the Imposter) but
is now a permanent fixture.
Let joy be unconfined.
In its inevitably damp bun
(is dampness a fast-food
avatar for freshness?), this
dod of fried Quorn sits on its
bed of shredded lettuce and
overgenerous splat of vegan
mayo. A uniform, fungal
beige inside, it’s mealy and
pasty in the mouth, the
famous secret spices in the
coating giving it the KFC
imprimatur. It’s simply pap
— overprocessed pap, made
from mycoprotein that’s
fermented, heat-treated,
pimped with additives and
frozen. KFC insists it’s not
fried in the same oil as the
chicken, but chips are sadly
out of the question.
I was going to say poor
vegans. Then I remembered
the fine, feisty, artisan
qualities of KFC’s chicken
offering and have amended
simply to poor us. MO’LKFC Original Recipe Vegan
Burger, £3.99; kfc.co.ukHOW MUCH?
Starters £6.50-£20
Mains £14-£38Total for two, including
wine and 13.5% service
charge £185a pungent (bottarga?) crumb,
Jerusalem artichoke and dense,
chilli-spiked broth — just lovely,
but it’s mine. Get yer spoon away.
Nor what’s become a signature
dish, a whole cod’s head, flame-
grilled for communal fossicking.
Another prejudice: I do not
love fossicking around a fish’s
head. Even the pal, brought up
to love it — given eyes as treats
— has lost his childhood
enjoyment of gelatinous fishy
bits. But the people next to
us have ordered a vast one that
arrives glistening in its gory,
homemade sriracha butter like
an outtake from Saw, and theySTEVEN JOYCE
The Sunday Times Magazine • 41