Arbutus

No matter how carefully you plan an eating trip to London occasionally other peoples arrangements get in the way. My intention on this evening had been a visit to Bonnie Gull to sample their take on seafood. It looked like success was in my grasp when the brightly lit restaurant seemed to have plenty of available tables. A quick browse of the menu confirmed that my choice was good until I went to the front door. The notice of a private party quickly brought things to a halt and it was then time to find somewhere else to eat. A stroll through Soho ended at the door of Arbutus and it seemed a good idea to see if there was an available table particularly as it seemed relatively quiet.

Arbutus has aimed to provide a bistro type experience in Soho since it was established on Frith Street in 2006. The emphasis has been on a comprehensive wine list with a changing list of plats du jour. The restaurant was established by Will Smith and Anthony Demetre who also heads the kitchen.

The à la carte is fairly simple including seven starters, six mains and five desserts. Crusty white bread was delivered to the table to start things and it definitely proved to be a nice way to kick things off. I’d wandered through the restaurant and passed a waiter carrying a tray with a lovely looking bowl of soup so this influenced my order. As a result, my first chosen course was potato soup with poached organic egg, buckwheat and parsley. This turned out to be a dish with many diversions, not all of them good. The combination of potato soup with the parsley oil was delicious but cutting open the poached egg raised the dish a few notches. As the yolk permeated through the liquid, the whole dish gained a rich silky depth. The contribution from the buckwheat was much less convincing. Eating the soup revealed a buckwheat, orange peel and ginger preserve base so suddenly the decadent egg and potato combination had to deal with a marmalade contribution and this did not work for me. This was a case where simplicity would have been the better approach.

The squid and mackerel burger has been a constant feature of the menu since the early days of the restaurant although the presentation has evolved. The burger is served with Cornish razor clams and has an additional garnish of squid hood. The mackerel is actually quite subdued but the overall taste of the burger is lovely with a pronounced dill flavour. The small portion of razor clam was livened by inclusion of sweet onion and the dish was finished off with a light lemon cream sauce.

January 2011

November 2012

The main of slow cooked lamb, grilled leeks, sheep’s cheese, Sicilian tomato and Padron peppers was served with Dauphinoise potatoes. The lamb was delightfully tender and the dish was mostly successful but suffered from too many tastes vying against each other. The sheep’s cheese and Dauphinoise potatoes both tasted great separately but the inclusion of both was too much. Similarly, the inclusion of peppers, leeks and a tomato olive blend as vegetable accompaniments was overwhelming. 

After three generous courses I was too full for dessert so passed on trying anything.

Overall verdict.
There’s no doubt that the cooking at Arbutus was good. However, it was impossible to avoid the conclusion that the meal could have been so much better with more restraint in the kitchen.                    

Would I revisit Arbutus?
Based on this experience I’d be happy to go back to Arbutus but it’s unlikely to be a priority.

Overall Rating - 3/5