Monday, March 05, 2007

The Temperance

74-76 York Street,
London W1H 1QN
(06-03-2007)

New gastro pub in the neighborhood, Marylebone. Went there with a mate to try out the food. My general feeling with gastro pubs is that when they try too hard to be French bistros they fail. This place is more Victorian classics than bistro and was very much to my liking. The décor is simple with faux gilding on the wallpaper and a rather sweet Swedish (this is the Swedish quarter after all) waitress which together made for a very homely experience.

The menu changes constantly depending on what is in season and available but follows a theme of serving up traditional fare with a twist. I had scallops with some totally forgettable sauce but the scallops were perfectly cooked. They had been pan fried just long enough to brown the sides but no more. My friend had a rustic vegetable soup (velute) that was very heavy on the cumin but again very simple worked very well.

For mains I had Venison & Cumberland sausages with black pudding mash and he had haggis with whiskey jus. Both dishes where firmly in the sort of comfort food that is delightful if done correctly i.e. simply. Here the Temperance did not disappoint and both dishes where excellent. I was particularly found of the black pudding mash as that is a completely new variation on mash as far as I’m concerned.

We finished with Gooseberry & rhubarb crumble w/butterscotch ice-cream which again was very good in its simplicity. In short no complaints although £80 for the two of us with one bottle of vine was a little steep but hey they’ve got to pay London rents like everybody else.

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