Anglo

Anglo opened in April 2016 in Farringdon, just by the Leather Lane market. The executive chef and owner is Mark Jarvis, who previously worked at The Bingham from late 2013 after having previously done stints at Texture and Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons. His head chef Jack Cashmore worked at Sat Bains and then as junior sous chef at In De Wulf. It had a short menu of modern British dishes, with starters around £9 and mains about £18, with vegetables extra and desserts £8 or so. In the evening there was a seven course tasting menu for £45. The dining room is quite small, with a few additional overflow tables downstairs.

The short wine list ranged in price from £25 to £72, with just 17 labels on offer with a median price of £35. Examples were Scherer Pinot Blanc Reserve 2014 at £32 for a bottle that you find in the high street for £10, the unusual Moroccan wine Domaine de la Zouina Epicuria Chardonnay 2014 at £44 compared to its retail price of £18 and Fleury Blanc de Noirs Brut NV at £72 for a wine that will set you back £31 in a shop.

Isle of Wight tomatoes and seaweed was interesting, the tomatoes themselves of high quality, and including tomato foam made from the juice of the tomatoes. These were decked out with edible flowers to prettify the dish, but the key was that the tomatoes were good (14/20).

Even better was smoked pork neck with broad beans and black garlic puree. The pork neck avoided dryness and the garlic worked well, and I particularly liked the beans, which were carefully prepared and had excellent flavour (15/20). Sourdough bread was made from scratch in the kitchen and very good indeed, with a hint of acidity, good salt content and impressive texture (easily 15/20).

Cod with cucumber and oyster was prettily presented, the cod correctly cooked and the cucumber working well with the fish and the briny oyster (14/20). Creedy Carver (a supplier near Exeter) duck leg with charred leek and gooseberry was another successful dish, the acidity of the berry cutting through the richness of the duck. The leeks were unusually good too, with a pleasing smoky flavour note (14/20).

Summer berries with whipped burrata and hay ice cream was an unusual combination. The berries, in particular the raspberries, were excellent, though the combination with the cheese seemed a touch eccentric (13/20). Colombian Casa Luker chocolate was more successful, sheets of chocolate containing beetroot sorbet, sea salt and lime caramel. This was an unusual combination but the beetroot worked surprisingly well with the chocolate, the saltiness combining nicely with the chocolate (15/20).

Coffee was from a supplier called Workshop Coffee in Clerkenwell and was excellent. Service was friendly and the bill, with just water to drink, came to £54 a head. If you shared a modest bottle of wine then a more typical cost per head might be closer to £70 or so.  I was impressed with the food at Anglo, the flavours coming through well, the ingredients of good quality and the cooking technique solid. It is an excellent addition to the area and seems to me to be one of the best of the London restaurant openings this year.