Orasay 31 Kensington Park Rd, London
Stars, eh? Astro-nomical objects, luminous spheroids of plasma, things where the fault, dear Brutus, is not. They glitter and gleam, dazzle and blind, the view from the gutter, a wanderer’s route home.
And a measure too, rather less romantically, of a critic’s delight. Or disdain. Because this fine organ, like many other newspapers and magazines, uses stars to rate its reviews.
Now some may disagree with the very notion, arguing that the prose alone should suffice, and that empirical systems of rating can paint too broad a stroke of one’s praise or dislike, missing, perhaps, the delicate subtleties and idiosyncrasies of a play, book, film or lunch.
Orasay is the new place from Jackson Boxer and Andrew Clarke specialising in British seafood, mostly from the Western Isles (including Isle of Mull scallops, above). And it’s damned good
But them’s the breaks, as they say, and life will somehow stagger on.
Anyway, I’ll keep this quick. My job is to seek out the best food this country has to offer.
And pass that information on to you. I live by your recommendations, along with those of fellow eaters and critics. And as a critic, I sit in hallowed company, a relative neophyte to a very exalted table.
There is, though, a lot of quality out there, at every single level.
Which never ceases to amaze, as the restaurant trade is tougher than five-day cooked rump, miles removed from the jolly beano of popular lore. Long and anti-social hours; ever-increasing rates, labour and food costs; ever-decreasing margins.
Even the very biggest and best places can struggle to make ends meet – you sure don’t open a restaurant to get rich. This trade is brutal. At best, joyous and brilliant and life- affirming. But brutal all the same.
Sure, there are mountebanks and charlatans out there, the fools, frauds and idiots. I’m not here to gild over mediocrity or pull some critical punch. But there is so much to celebrate and support – and so much filth and hate and bitterness, both online and off – that I do tend to seek out the places that give me joy rather than indigestible gloom.
Hence all these four-star reviews. Not quite perfection, but far better than average. Places where you get value for your hard-earned wedge. Here endeth the lesson.
As you’d expect from the talents behind Brunswick House and St Leonard they’ve lightened the room up, simplified things, so the narrow room is clean, and bright and modern
And so to Orasay. The new place in Notting Hill from Jackson Boxer and Andrew Clarke that specialises in British seafood, mostly from the Western Isles. Damned good it is too.
As you’d expect from the talents behind Brunswick House and St Leonard. It sits on the site of a Mexican place that was once quite good. For a brief moment. And they’ve lightened the room up, simplified things, so the narrow room is clean, and bright and modern.
Just like the cooking.
We start with tiny deep-fried prawns, eaten whole, the sort you find in Spanish and Italian seaside places and wish you could eat back home. Now you can. They’re sweet and crisp and wonderful.
Then cockles, too often seen as the lumpen, socially awkward little brother to the more sophisticated clam. Here, served with a dollop of smokily intense ham and burnt chilli relish, they shine. Plump, pure crustacean allure.
Three cool, clean-tasting Teign River oysters are anointed with the most delicate of Champagne and elderflower jellies, the gently floral flavours flattering, rather than flattening, the shellfish’s briny charm.
Puffy fried bread comes with a fried egg and immaculate, dark, chewy anchovies draped lasciviously across its face. Chewy grilled potato bread is smeared with smoked cod’s roe of the finest grade.
The first of the English asparagus arrives with a sous vide egg yolk, and deep-fried smoked anchovies, intensely rich and chewy. More egg and bread and cured fish. But just like the rest, a dish of balance and comfort and charm.
At Orasay, they do the small things so well. Every detail matters, and while the cooking is assuredly bold and modern, it’s never dull or fussy. Excellent produce meets excellent kitchen.
This is food that makes me happy. In a restaurant that’s made to last.
About £35 per head