The Tasting Menu: A Trifle Too Much? Tom Aitkins Review

Last night I watched the Japanese film Spirited Away with my lovely girlfriend, which has provided me with a rather apt intro to this post. Early in the film, the girl's parents see piles of amazing food, can't stop eating it and turn into big fat pigs (literally). Unfortunately neither myself nor Oli have a brave little daughter who is willing to begin an adventure in the aim of rescuing us from the clutches of swinedom, so erring on the side of caution would perhaps be wise. Perhaps the visit to Tom Aitkins, on that level, would be a resounding failure.

For those of you who don't know him, my good friend Oli is my culinary partner in crime, and once co-author of the then unwritten Wide Eyed Food Guide. He is also the person who I experienced my first bout of top end dining with, and on most of my visits since has usually been found somewhere on the same table. In November, I noticed a deal on Keynoir - London (definitely worth keeping an eye on!) where £75 up-front gave you £150 to spend at Tom Aitkins, the 16th best restaurant in the UK according to the Good Food Guide 2011. After somehow managing to hold out until January, we booked a table on a cold and miserable Thursday, just to celebrate having enough energy to actually do something on a week night.

With Oli running a little late, I had some time to sit and read with a glass of Champagne while he toiled across central London at rush hour. Once he arrived we were whisked through to start hitting the taste menu. Now, dissecting 7 courses plus various in-betweeners so I'll break it down into the high points and, not criticisms but uncertainties:

All in all the food was delightful, and the staff friendly and happy to chat. I love having a chat with the staff about food, and it's nice to see when they're passionate and opinionated about the food. One of the waiters even went as far as saying that he personally thought that one of the dishes could be simplified, which we concurred with.

For me there were three particular dishes that stood out (I've listed them all below), being the Foie Gras, which I love (sorry), nearly always order, and now bettered in standard by Tom Aitkins. It came both cured, and in jelly, with pickled mushrooms it was wonderful and demonstrated how something so rich and particular in taste could actually be done very differently. The second of which was the John Dory, which was a little fillet sat on a soft, juicy, breadcrumbed bit of veal, with another bit of veal on top. The dish was contrasting in its ingredients, cooked to perfection and delicious. Finally, (being a man with a rather sweet tooth it was inevitable that I would love it) the Chocolate Dacquoise was fun, beautiful and just wonderful. It was like a chocolate building site, with rubble that melted in your mouth and big dusted boulders of rich gooey heaven. The only thing that marred it was the knowledge that I couldn't resist demolishing the dish (flagrant building pun) and that it was going to hurt later, which leads on to the critiques.

It seems odd to critique too much generosity, but when leaving a restaurant I want to feel like I've been fed well, but not too well. Now I know that some of you will read this with the thought that I should pace myself, but when you have no idea what's coming next, and it's great, then you're going to eat it. I happen to have a tremendous capacity to put food away, but this just bettered me. I appreciate that the the food was complex, and contrasting and adventurous, however the meal, with its various interlude bites, felt more like full courses than tasters, and I, an archetypical wielder of very little willpower, left feeling a bit sick. Generosity appreciated, but there was too much food served.

Of the two direct criticisms, one fits with the above point: The Scallop was very tasty and cooked well, but there was so much going on, and we both thought that there could have been less on the plate. The other criticism was of the fennel with the honeycomb, which was a bit stringy (the fennel obviously), and didn't really work for me.

In spite of the above few points, the visit to Tom Aitkins was great, and the skill demonstrated showed that he's a leader of the culinary pack, rather than a follower. I'm not going to start awarding Michelin stars, as I have neither the power nor expertise to do so, however I'd say that it justified the accolades on our visit. It's just a shame that my tipsy-happy trip home felt more like the other side of a rather double edged sword.

Website: www.tomaikens.co.uk
Address: Tom Aikens, 43 Elystan St, Chelsea, SW3

The tasting menu consisted of:
Roast Scallop, beetroot purée, caramelised onions, beetroot dressing.
Cured Foie Gras, pickled mushrooms, foie gras mousse, cep dressing.
Roast John Dory, pumpkin sauce, braised veal shin.
Loin of Romney Marsh Lamb, aligot potato, dried green olive.
Fresh Honeycomb, Greek Yoghurt, poppy seed ice cream, confit lemon, fennel, Ginestière cheese.
Chocolate Dacquoise, chocolate mousse, peanuts, chocolate pops, milk ice cream.

I didn't take any pictures, but you can see photos of the dishes at this blog: http://bit.ly/e0ewmL