Short & Sweet: Westerns Laundry

Style: Modern European

Budget: Mid-range.

Venue and atmosphere: All the usual minimalist features (exposed brick, bulbs and concrete floor), softened by loads of natural light, beautiful flower arrangements and a stylish bar overlooking the open kitchen.

Service: Casual and friendly, but efficient. Good knowledge of the menu and wine list, which translates into great recommendations. (This is crucial with a menu like this, as you’ll want to order everything.)

Food:

One of my favourite things to put in my mouth is scrumpet – fatty, inexpensive cuts of meat in terrine-esque form, breadcrumbed and deep-fried. I am particularly fond of the pig’s head variety and so, it seems, are most of London’s chefs at the moment, which is a very happy coincidence.

The pig’s head ‘croquettes’ with tarragon mayonnaise at Western’s Laundry were among the best I have had this year, and I’ve had many. Perfectly crisp outside, giving way to a salty, fatty, melty, meaty mess inside. I generally think the best sauce for a scrumpet is something creamy and acidic to cut through the fat, but a bold and powerful kick of anise worked just as well.

Salmon tartare was the yin to the pig’s head yang; light, delicate, subtle and refined. The slightly cured salmon, soft and tender, studded with flakes of sea salt, seaweed and finely diced shallot.

Pork collar was just the right shade of pink and an unusual combination of charred hispi cabbage and sweet and tangy romesco made surprisingly good bedfellows, though I prefer my romesco a little more on the chunky side.   

Rare beef sirloin and tatties roasted in beef dripping made allusions to Sunday lunch without committing to it, a creamy peppercorn sauce much more welcome than a stodgy gravy. 

The only disappointment was a rather bland apple and caramel cake, which looked amazing, but didn’t quite deliver.

Drink: A handful of whites and reds and a few roses, all available by the glass, carafe or bottle. My mum and I drank the 2016 Arndorfer Gruner, which sat happily in the middle of our divergent palettes – both fresh and citrusy (mum's preference) and fruity and aromatic (mine).

In a nutshell: All my favourite ingredients: great produce, simple but refined cooking, interesting combinations, loads of wines by the glass with a cosy, neighbourhood feel despite it’s modish interior.

Out of 10: 8

Westerns Laundry: 34 Drayton Park, London, N5 1PB; +44 (0)20 7700 3700.

Comments

[ma]

Ah that was a great lunch , and I am in awe of your ability to describe what we had to eat so eloquently and so accurately. I agree with everything you say , even if all I said at the time was mmmmm yummy over and over again!