Tag Archives: London

Unforgettable Dinner: Whole Turbot & Burnt Cheesecake at Brat, London

Brat, an old English word for turbot, is a casual restaurant with good service and fantastic Basque inspired food that earned a Michelin star in it’s first 6 months.

The specialty of the house is whole turbot, slow grilled over charcoal embers and the reason we were there.

The restaurant is upstairs over a pub and at the top of the stairs the first thing that gets your attention is fire and the busy, exciting kitchen.

WHERE IT ALL HAPPENS

A whole turbot is a lot of fish and it takes awhile to cook so we surrendered to the temptation is try a few starters. The oysters and bread with anchovies were so good, if we didn’t have that turbot coming we’d have had seconds of both.

OYSTERS WITH PLUM AND SEAWEED
GRILLED BREAD WITH ANCHOVIES
ROASTED SCALLOP

When the chef presented the fish we were so excited we didn’t get a picture. We had watched them turning and spraying the fish for the last 45 minutes. The fat from the fish and the vinaigrette make a delicious sauce. We cleaned it to the bones.

A side of potatoes are a must. Even better than at Rovi, roasted over embers and drowning in hay smoked butter.

The burnt cheesecakes were temptingly on display at the kitchen when we arrived and impossible not to try. Another winner.

BURNT CHEESECAKE WITH PEAR

Brat served us one of the best meals we’ve ever eaten. Until next time, goodbye.

Exploring London’s Best Eats: First Night Dinner Review

We finished our Ireland and UK trip with 4 nights in London. We had 3 dinners and 3 plays booked well in advance, starting with dinner at Rovi by Ottolenghi.

Yotam Ottolenghi is Israeli-British and the menu is middle eastern with many ingredients I’d never heard of. Fortunately Google knows everything. Following are some of the best things we tried.

Msabahha is tahini sauce, this was probably the best chickpea dish I’ve ever eaten.

WARM MSABBAHA CHICKPEAS, confit garlic, tomato amba

No explanation needed but I’ll try to be a bit fancier with my corn next summer. Loved the combo of pumpkin seeds and spices.

SWEETCORN lime miso butter, pumpkin seed dukkah

Gurnard was new to me, also known as soldier fish or sea robins they are from the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. Firm, white and inexpensive. Carli peppers are a Turkish variety that is sweet and tart. Tatbelah is a middle eastern sauce made with green chilis, garlic, lemon and spices, often used to top hummus.

RED GURNARD SKEWER, carli pepper, tatbelah, fennel chili salt

Pink Fir potatoes are a heritage variety that has a nutty, earthly flavour and were great for mopping up the delicious butter bean aioli and slightly spicy vegan njuja.

PINK FIR POTATOES, butter bean aioli, vegan nduja

Every dish was delish but the fish and the potatoes were craveable. We could have had more potatoes for dessert but had to leave for the theatre. Big Yums UP!