IMAGES: CHARLIE MCKAY; THE WHITE STUDIOS; JUSTIN RODRIGUES; SERGEY MELNIKOV
REVIEWS
THE GOSLING SURREY •
THEGOSLING.CO.UK
After a frosty walk, a seat at a plush pastel banquette in an art deco bar is most welcome. And the Zest cocktail — gin, St-Germain, citrus, agave and chilli — is a warming choice. Such are the pleasures of The Gosling,
just outside Woking. The menu is simple and considered, and in an age of small plates, there’s something comforting — nostalgic, even — about the idea of a starter, main and dessert. There are oysters and a ham hock terrine with puffed crackling among the first courses, but it’s the lobster crumpet, heaped with sweet crustacean in beurre noisette, that feels like a signature dish — virtually every table ordered one. My vote, though, goes to the ‘cigar’, a
LYLA EDINBURGH •
LYLAEDINBURGH.CO.UK
The joy of a tasting menu, for me at least, is the invitation to slow down and savour. At Lyla, things start in leisurely fashion with a samphire martini plus a small lobster tart topped with roe, in view of the cabinet in which sea trout is aged with brown sugar and coffee, cold smoked and covered in treacle. That trout resurfaces later in almost ham-like slivers, served with chawanmushi, an umami custard so flavoursome and with such a delicious mouthfeel I’m reluctant to swallow. Previously the site of Michelin-starred
21212, this grand Edinburgh address is back in business, as chef Stuart Ralston’s fourth restaurant in the capital. Though not strictly a fish restaurant, seafood forms the foundation.
KINKALLY LONDON •
KINKALLY.CO.UK
Whether it’s pierogi or dim sum, there’s something addictive about dumplings. And that’s certainly the case at new Georgian restaurant Kinkally, where plump dough parcels are the stars of the show. I’m told to hold each khinkali (dumpling) by
its twisted top, bite off the bottom and discard the rest. This feels too homely a way to eat, given the sleek surroundings, but the pretty, precise dumplings fit right in. The dough of the langoustine version is striped with squid ink and the seafood filling flavoured with tarragon, while the accompanying matsoni (fermented yoghurt) foam adds a hint of funk. Better still is the mussel and leek, with a limoncello sauce so sweet it almost tastes like lemon curd.
There’s a pleasing interplay between sweet
and savoury elsewhere, too. A pile of aubergine is roasted down to buttery softness, spiced with satsebeli (a tomato and chilli paste), and accompanied by another matsoni sauce that’s generous on the vanilla. Elsewhere, beetroot that’s been dehydrated and rehydrated in beetroot juice has an almost gelatinous texture, and comes with fresh, minty ricotta. It’s all the work of Georgian chef David
Chelidze, who I’m told Diana Militski, Kinkally’s owner, was so committed to, she’d have rethought the restaurant’s entire concept if his visa hadn’t come through. Luckily for me, it did. Sharing plates and khinkali for two around £90; wine from £9 a glass. Nicola Trup
NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/TRAVEL 123 The simple three-ingredient titles for the 10
courses belie their complexity. ‘Black bream, radish, Exmoor caviar’ arrives as individual eggs dropped in curls of radish slices, balanced like flowers on the bream, in a pool of cucumber and apple sauce with a jalapeño slick of heat. ‘Wagyu beef, onion, black walnut’ is beef doused in a flavoursome black walnut sauce with a side of deep-fried sweetbreads. Langoustine comes in fine pastry strands, with a burnt apple and sorrel chutney. Meanwhile, sommelier Stuart Skea shares each glass like it’s a cheeky secret. It’s a feast worth spending four hours over — and I did. Ten-course tasting menu £165 per person. Wine pairing £120, soft pairing £65. Johanna Derry Hall
crisp flute of brick pastry filled with slivers of Jerusalem artichoke and truffle-rich burrata. From the grill comes monkfish with mussels
and crispy cavolo nero, doused in a coconut curry velouté, and an 11oz sirloin, charred to perfection. Desserts, meanwhile, include rich chocolate mousse with pistachios and black cherry gel, and a choice of British cheeses, the tunworth being a personal favourite. However, the rum baba beckons. Its accompanying pineapple could do with more char, but there are few pleasures like good, booze-sodden sponge and ice cream. It’s a wonderfully nostalgic finish. Three courses with wine around £140 for two people. Connor McGovern
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