Tom Jeffreys joins the ranks of the plutocrats, albeit momentarily.
Ah the four-hour lunch break. It makes me feel rather like a banker, or one of those plutocratic fellows I always wanted to be when I was wee. Admittedly 2 hours were spent on public transport – going from Spoonfed Towers to Sloane Square and back again – which rather cut short my usual brandy and post-postprandial misogynistic musings, but hey ho.
I’d been invited to 101 Pimlico Road by online fashion retail guru Patricia Davidson – who’s written more books, blogs and websites than you could probably imagine. The restaurant has only been open for about four months and already Patricia has eaten here 5 times. Given that she’s off to Paris next week to check out the triple Michelin-starred L’Arpege, if Patricia makes a recommendation, it’s probably worth heeding.
Located a short walk from Sloane Square tube station, amid those wildly expensive shops selling zebra-skin carpets, medieval damasks, elaborately gilded trinkets and preposterous chandeliers, 101 Pimlico Road is pleasantly discreet. Yes, the décor is expensive, but hush-hush expensive in a nice, tasteful way. Seating is midnight blue, walls in grey or muted silver. There’s various panels featuring cutlery or little jigsaw arrangements in pale gold and tan – interesting but not distracting, it’s clean, calm and modern.
All of which puts the emphasis firmly on the food, and with good reason. Prices, for this area, are pretty reasonable: starters are £6-£9, mains £14-£18 and deserts around £6. There’s also a 3 course set lunch menu for £20. Patricia is keeping things simple today – she’s dining at the Wolseley in the evening – so just has a tomato and mozzarella salad to start off. I opt for the whitebait – light, greaseless and subtly spiced – with zingy aioli. It’s a simple dish expertly done, and an apt introduction to 101 Pimlico Road.
Patricia then has a salad of salmon, crème fraiche and marinaded beetroot, which apparently is “utterly delicious”, although it looks a bit insubstantial to satiate my lunchtime greed. I plump for the braised beef cheek, which may sound like one of Edmund Blackadder’s Baldrick-directed insults, but is in fact completely wonderful. It’s a wealth of hearty, meaty, melty goodness, with a little gift of bone marrow on the side. Simply served with mash, a splosh of gravy, spinach and ratatouille, I could probably eat this every day. Although the caramelised onion may have been superfluous.
Deserts are a little uninspiring, but then I rarely get excited by pudding. I’d rather just have a plate of salami or something. Anyway, in the interests of completeness, I have a limoncello sorbet which is fine, and a single espresso. At that stage head chef Keith Goddard pops out for a chat – it turns out we both went to the same prep school, the very place where my plutocratic ambitions were first carefully nurtured. If those ambitions ever get realised, I’d come here as often as Patricia: 101 Pimlico Road is superb.
18th March 2010.
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