What the critics say: Chipotle, 101 Pimlico Road…

27th July 2010, 11:19am

A round-up of the latest reviews

Ognisko Polish Club, London
Matthew Norman, The Telegraph, 26 July

"My guinea fowl, with Calvados and slices of apple that could have done with some Apron seasoning, was overcooked, overcharged and overpowered by monstrously sweet red cabbage. For the £15.30 it cost you could have three courses plus coffee, fresh fruit, chocolates and a shot of vodka at The Patio, our beloved Polish joint a few miles away."

"This empty room (the only other occupied table was taken by a bewildered Hong Kong Chinese couple) had sated our appetite, Chopin-style, for soulful desolation. So we took to a more lively terrace outside, overlooking a garden, to share a pudding. The triumph of the cheesecake, my friend said, was that it defied the laws of culinary physics by being heavier than the cheese with which it was indistinctly flavoured. My coffee was revolting."

101 Pimlico Road, London
Zoe Williams, The Telegraph, 26 July

"It was the kind of starter you might get at a wedding, a dish devised by someone trying to prepare for 150 guests, 15 hours in advance ('Oh, who cares? They'll be drunk anyway,' said the flabby aubergine). I am sounding like an absolute cow (not even a pretty one), but there it is. They're not like people, restaurants; just because they haven't offended you doesn't mean you have to like them. 

"I followed with the cod on chorizo mash (£15), about which I have the following gripes: tiny little bit of cod, small enough to remind me of a diet tip I read in the 1980s that said your protein portion should be no bigger than a pack of cigarettes (it foolishly never specified 10 or 20. This was a 10); the skin had been crisped but left on the plate long enough that it had uncrisped itself by the time it hit the table, and yet still bore the appearance of crispiness (imagine my disappointment); the mash had the gluey consistency that is the result of electric mixing. The chorizo was nice."

Chipotle, London
Lisa Markwell, The Independent, 25 July

"My bowl of barbacoa beef (stringy, but not unpleasant) comes with rice, beans, salsa, sour cream and chillis, which is what all the dishes on offer seem to be – just the meat (there's also pork and chicken, which look unnervingly similar) and delivery method varies. Mr M has the pork version wrapped in a tortilla and it arrives sealed in tinfoil, looking like a bomb. With a beer, lemonade and shared side order of chips and surprisingly zingy, fresh guacamole, our bill is £21.55, which doesn't compare very favourably with Maccie D's, but it was a decent pit stop. I can't hand on heart recommend it as worth a special trip. So, over to El Camino."

"This sassy little restaurant has had a Portobello address for a year, but has newly opened a second branch in Soho. I immediately feel on safer ground – the tables are laid with gaudy floral waxed cloths that feel authentic, there's a sun-bleached cow's skull, and one wall is lined with hundreds of different chilli sauces (which seem to range from 'ow, ow, ow' to 'dear-god-my-jaw-is-melting', although I'm paraphrasing and don't get to find out because the maître d' tells us firmly that they are for display only, thank you very much)."

Cantina Laredo, London
Tracey MacLeod, The Independent, 24 July

"The sheer size of our starters, each vast bowl packed with redundant chopped lettuce and other bulking agents, confirmed that this wasn't going to be an exquisite fine dining experience. Quesadillas stuffed with gooey Oaxaca cheese, mushrooms and caramelised onions offered a flavour experience straight out of Pizza Express. Cilantro chicken salad, made with several kilos of grilled chicken, black beans and avocado, also failed to deliver any of the expected jolts of flavour. 

"And then it came. The worst thing I've eaten in my professional career. The menu flagged it up as a signature dish, clearly using the phrase in the same way criminologists do when talking about the signatures of serial killers. A whole poblano pepper, stuffed with ground beef, pork, almonds and raisins, entombed in clammy batter and deep-fried into a damp, school dinnerish horror. As the pepper leaked what moisture it had, the batter grew heavy and grey. Instead of something fresh and green, I was faced with an item that looked and tasted like it had been dug up on the Mexican Day of the Dead."

Trullo, London
Jay Rayner, The Observer, 25 July

"The menu is short, self-confident and ever-changing. The success of a cannellini bean bruschetta had less to do with the beans themselves, good though they were, than the wonderful olive oil, the crunch of salt and the aromatic green herbs. The true stars of the piece, though, are the pasta dishes. Wide, butter-yellow ribbons of papperdelle came with an earthy stew of wood pigeon, in a ripe gravy that insinuated itself into every corner of the dish. Tagliarini was mined with nutty, intense brown shrimps and fine strips of courgette – zucchini in the menu, a minor affectation – and chilli. It was perfectly seasoned and judged.

"A slab of lamb rump was charcoal charred outside, baby-cheek pink inside and properly seasoned. Alongside it lay a stew of green and yellow beans. Hunks of slow-cooked veal shin were dressed with a perky salsa verde and accompanied by long-baked aubergine which, oversalting aside, had a soft, melting texture. Other than two very serviceable tarts – the Amalfi lemon, and one of almond layered with raspberries – there was a strawberry ice cream and a Charentais melon sorbet. The latter tasted simply like melon blitzed through a sorbet machine, without the aid of extra sugar. This is a good thing."

Lanterna, Scarborough
Pascal Wyse, The Guardian, 24 July

"Despite summer having got its act together, chickpea and oxtail stew and venison ravioli both proved too good to miss, before fillet of sea bass and porcini risotto for mains. The stew, pasta and risotto all ran deep with flavour – complex comfort food teased from simple components – while the fish lounged on a thick bed of sage, rosemary and thyme picked from the restaurant's two allotments. And all the while we eyed up the truffle menu and vowed to come back in season (October to January), when Giorgio's regular shopping trips to Italy will also bring back that smelly white jewel."

Related Articles:

• 23 Aug 2010 - Cantina Laredo introduces two new menus

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