Tom Jeffreys is surprised by the summer menu of a Piccadilly institution.
Summer in London means many things – festivals, rain and lazy weather-related introductions to articles that have nothing to do with the weather at all. For 2011, the arrival of summer also means the arrival of a special summer menu at Piccadilly foodie institution Fortnum and Mason. Best known as the place to go for picnic hampers, as the inventors of Scotch eggs (way back in 1851) and, more recently, as the target of highly publicised tax-related sit-in protests, Fortnum's also boasts various restaurants and tea rooms, including the revamped Fountain Restaurant on the ground floor, where we head for supper.
I have to confess that the last thing I ate at Fortnum's was an extremely disappointing (and expensive) breakfast about five years ago, but this new menu suggests that things have changed in the interim. It's lean, enticing, and, at £28 for three courses and a sizeable glass of Pouilly Fuisse per person, pretty reasonable value too. Fortnum's will always trade on its unequalled reputation, enviable location, and elegant interiors – all soft pinks, jades and gold – but now it looks like the cooking has stepped up a gear too. No longer is Fortnum's simply about purveying post-colonial mush to overgrown public schoolboys too lazy to walk as far as their club (although there is still kedgeree, roast beef, lobster mayonnaise etc); things are looking up.
I kick off with potted duck with hazelnut – richly delicious, although the sweet fig chutney is perhaps a little overwhelming in terms of quantity – while my companion opts for the deftly delivered goats cheese and beetroot salad: a perfect little slice of English summer. She, being vegetarian, continues with the asparagus and tarragon risotto (which is excellent, if a little rich, and it's a shame not to see something a little more original than risotto for the vegetarian option) whilst I have the pork belly, which really is a complete delight. Soft and rich and perched among a selection of neat little vegetables, this is exactly what pork belly should be. Topped with perfect crackling and allied, neatly, with a tangy gooseberry compote, this is a simple dish, neatly re-examined and expertly executed.
Likewise, the pudding we both choose – a yoghurt panacotta with rhubarb – is light and fresh and an ideal summer dessert. All of this is washed down with a couple of glasses of Fortnum's Mosel Riesling Kabinett (instead of the suggested Pouilly Fuisse) which at £7 a glass is pretty good value for something so crisp and complex in its minerality. With food and drink like this, I may be staging a few sit-ins of my own.
www.fortnumandmason.com
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