What the experts recommend
Scully St James 4 St James’s Market, London SW1 (020-3911 6840) Ramael Scully was head chef at Nopi for years, says Tim Hayward in the FT. In terms of London grub, that marks him out as “a firebrand young general in the broader revolutionary movement of Ottolenghism, which aims to create global joy” via fearless eclecticism. Now Scully has opened his own “utterly brilliant” place off Haymarket, where he’s creating “brilliant combinations of exotic flavours” that freely mine his own “personal cultural melange” of Chinese/indian meets Irish/ Balinese meets Australian-raised. Achar, a piccalilli-like raw veg salad in a spiced peanut sauce, “jangled every jaded taste bud to life”. “Forbidden” black rice with a “vegetable XO sauce” is sensational. There’s monkfish with sambal belacan and sothi; there’s halibut with wild garlic and vadouvan. And an astonishing act of “miscegenation” – arepa (Venezualan shallow-fried cornmeal pancake) with an aubergine sambal (Indonesian/malaysian vegetable hot sauce) and bergamot labneh (Middle Eastern strained yoghurt cheese) – is “so bloody good I ordered it twice”. Starters £6-£9; mains £9-£26.
Cornerstone 3 Prince Edward Road, London E9 (020-8986 3922) Tom Brown used to cook at the London restaurant of Nathan Outlaw, says Giles Coren in The Times. And at his own “brilliant and beautiful” new place in Hackney, Brown is displaying all of “Nathan’s uncompromising brilliance with fish”, alongside his own “very special talent”, to produce cooking that’s “out of this world”. Oysters pickled in gherkin vinegar on the shell with a gentle horseradish cream, were “sensational”. Three raw hand-dived scallops were pricey (at £18), but were so sweet and fresh they were “almost alive”. Monkfish slices cured with lime pickle, and served with coconut yoghurt and coriander, were not “the car crash they sound” – but rather “sparkling, heavenly manifestations of a fish I had grown bored with”. Potted shrimps on a warm crumpet with shrimp butter were the stuff of dreams. And best of all was cider-braised cuttlefish on lentils: “fresh, meaty and sweet under cubes of sharp apple and slices of scallion”. About £60
a head, excluding drinks.
91-96 Kings Road Arches, Brighton (01273-711900)
This jolly seafront restaurant – with its egg-yolk yellow metal chairs, aquamarine banquettes, sunny outlook and lovely, breezy staff – feels more like a “holler” than a murmur, says Tom Parker Bowles in The Mail on Sunday. The boss here is Michael Bremner, the “deeply talented chef” behind the superlative 64 Degrees, and the food is (mostly) excellent. Delicately cured salmon, with “just the right whack of acidity” and blobs of tart yoghurt and fronds of dill, is “simple but immaculately done”. The same goes for Poole Bay rock oysters, “plump and briny” with a sharp but subtle yuzu dressing. Charred asparagus scented with preserved lemon and “ethereally light” ricotta is beautifully understated. And my friend’s lemon sole is “spanking fresh” and comes with “inspired” potatoes cooked in fish stock. After all these treats, my crispy fried trout is disappointingly under-spiced and lacklustre. Amazing puds, though: a “sublime” salted caramel mousse and a “bloody good” pineapple pavlova. Do go. About £35 a head.