What the experts recommend
Hantverk and Found 18 King Street, Margate (01843-280454) If the gentrification of (parts of) Margate means the arrival of more places like Hantverk and Found, count me in, says Jay Rayner in The Observer. This “tiny cupboard” of a fish restaurant, half of it tiled in the “sea green of a Victorian public convenience”, is an intimate affair: there are only ten seats up front, plus a few in the garden, and in the kitchen, a “couple of people knocking out idiosyncratic fish dishes” – most of which are great. Rock oysters come dressed with the crunch and kick of jalapeños and pickled cucumber, or with yuzu and wakame, which “makes them taste even more of themselves”. A generous serving of queenie scallops come deep-fried in a “pleasingly golden panko crumb, and served with a saltysweet bowl of soy, eased by a good splash of mirin”. Croquettes of house-salted hake are “warm balls of flaky fish that crumble apart obligingly, ready for a dredge” through the saffron mayonnaise. One or two of the more complex dishes stumble slightly, but errors are easy to forgive in such a “sunny, good-natured take-us-asyou-find-us” kind of place. Meal for two, including drinks and service, £60-£80.
Carters of Moseley 2c St Mary’s Row, Moseley, Birmingham (0121-449 8885) What is it with Birmingham’s Michelinstarred chefs and their need to name their restaurants after themselves, asks Keith Miller in The Daily Telegraph. In addition to Carters, there’s Simpsons, Purnell’s, Adam’s and Turners – “maddeningly inconsistent apostrophe deployment correct at time of going to press”. But whether this reflects “narcissism, or an honourable desire for accountability”, the staff at Brad Carter’s restaurant could not have been more “charming”, and his food was excellent, too – artful and “clever but not, you know, clever-clever”. A mineral edge to “coastal spring lamb” was “beautifully brought out by a sprinkling of dried seaweed”. Sea trout was deeply flavoursome, cooked almost au confit, with a little kaffir lime leaf. It was also a “triumph of presentation, set in a neat splodge of a dark summer-vegetable reduction, marbled with a brighter pea purée”. Pudding was a “sharp-edged” cherry tart with a delicious dollop of sheep’s yogurt with fennel and blueberries. This is cooking with “love and expertise aplenty”. Three-course lunch, £35 a head.
Blanchette East 204 Brick Lane, London E1 (020-7729 7939) Hanging above the bar at Blanchette East is a large reproduction of Ingres’s La Grande Odalisque, says Fay Maschler in the London Evening Standard. With a “languid sidelong glance over her right shoulder avoiding the gaze of the observer, an elongated graceful back, peacock fan held to no particular discreet effect alongside her naked form, the 19th century concubine might just be hoping for the arrival of a long-awaited glass of Ricard”. It’s a joyfully sumptuous image which sets the style for this impressive sister restaurant to the Alary brothers’ Blanchette in Soho. Here in the east, their French gaze shifts south, encompassing Maghreb flavours to delicious effect. Our highlights included monkfish with smoked aubergine purée and chermoula courgette; lamb tagine with apricot, almonds and lebna (yoghurt cheese); and “blissful” saffron couscous with tabbouleh and pomegranate yogurt. Snacks – merguez sausage rolls with harissa mayonnaise; cheese beignets with a “witchy, dark” onion confit – have delightful clarity and distinction, too. À la carte meal for two, about £100, including wine and service.