Kitchen Table

One of my favourite places from the early days of this blog was Roganic, Simon Rogan’s two year pop-up. I enjoyed my first lunch so much that I immediately booked for dinner a few days later. The wonderful food was only part of the story. Much of the attraction was the relaxed feel of the restaurant and the exceptional front of house staff who combined real friendliness with an in-depth knowledge and enthusiasm about the menu. As the restaurant finished its tenure exactly on schedule, the alumni scattered to other restaurants in the capital and I’ve occasionally bumped into them in subsequent trips to London.

Post Roganic, Sandia Chang and her husband James Knappett established Bubbledogs/Kitchen Table in Fitzrovia. James’ background has involved working in a number of Michelin starred kitchens including Marcus Wareing, The Ledbury, Noma, and Thomas Keller’s Per Se. This background plays into the dual personality of Bubbledogs. The front room is the Bubbledogs part of the operation where hot dogs and champagne are the order of the day. The atmosphere is raucous with groups stopping in after shopping or on a hen night group taking advantage of the champagne on offer. Towards the back of the room is a heavy curtain that screens the goal of my visit. The back room where an entirely different operation functions.

Beyond the curtain is the site of Kitchen Table, an arena that allows James Knappett to show what he is capable of. The restaurant arrangement is a semi-circle of seats round the central kitchen area where the team of chefs cook and assemble the dishes for diners on the night. Each evening comprises two sittings. Half of the seating area kicks off early at 6 pm and the second half starts around 7:30. The menu is set for the night and sues seasonal ingredients. A list of single ingredients on a blackboard at the far end of the room gives hints about the menu for the evening. The brevity of this menu means that James Knappett or other members of the kitchen brigade describe the dishes in more detail, in many cases telling background stories about the ingredients or their sourcing.

The wait staff led by Sandia Chang have that warm easy-going style that makes you feel welcome immediately. They’re always happy to answer any questions you have about the dishes. I lost my notes from the evening at Kitchen Table and contacted the restaurant to see if they could give details of the dishes. The email that arrived promptly was yet another indication of how the team at Bubbledogs/Kitchen Table look after their customers. A combination of the email and my photos was enough to trigger memories of the dishes that particularly stood out.

Colchester native oyster, nasturtium, lemon, lychee granita. This starts things off as the meal continues. A blend of simple clean flavours that come together for a very impressive whole. I love the combination of the marine blast of oyster and the aromatic lychee granite.

Razor clams, fennel

Pig lardo, sourdough, pine, fennel blossom. The crunchy sourdough toast is a great foil to the rings of intense pork fat. The pine oil “mayonnaise?” and especially the fennel blossom add scented accents that lighten it and make the whole snack really moreish.

Crispy chicken skin, rosemary mascarpone, bacon jam. A wonderful snack. The wafer of chicken skin is superb but the toppings make this a fantastic snack. The creaminess of the mascarpone a delight and the sweet bacon jam so good everyone wants to know how to make it.

Watermelon, tomato, shiso, herbs, fish sauce. A wonderful blend of fresh tastes that makes your mouth sing. The tomato water jelly is especially good.

Scallop, ginger mayo, scallop roe. The scallop is possibly the freshest I’ve had and is incredibly tender. The powder made from the scallop roe carries a wonderful strong flavour that is sensational here. 

Lobster, butternut, truffle. The combination of butternut squash and lobster buried beneath truffle is good but the dish isn’t the equal of the other courses for me.

Pork, girolles, ceps, tarragon, miso butter. James Knappett is good at telling stories about the ingredients and here it’s a tale of sourcing the Gloucester Old Spot that is the star of the dish. This is my introduction to the combination of pork with tarragon. It’s a surprise mix but the two are exceptional together.

Beef, peas, mint, Bearnaise. This is the last savoury course and it helps finish that section of the meal on a high. The rare beef and sweet fresh peas go together exceptionally well.

Devon blue, greengage, puff pastry. This is my first ever experience of greengage. The combination of the rich buttery flavour of the crumbly blue cheese with the sweet greengage tart with its hint of tartness is great.

The courses don’t come much more basic than damson and vanilla ice cream. It may be simple but the combination is superb. Rich creamy vanilla with the acidic damson syrup cutting through for an overall refreshing effect. Thanks to James Knappett I learn a lot about damsons during the preamble to this dish and now appreciate why you can find it is jams, cheeses etc. but never as a fruit to just eat.

Peach, mascarpone, thyme, honey. Grilled peach was served with creamy mascarpone

Gooseberry, almond, pine, yoghurt. This was another exceptional course. I love the sharp edge that yoghurt in desserts has compared to ice cream. Here the yoghurt parfait is combined with pine tips that give the dish a lovely aromatic character while the gooseberry compôte gives the dish a nice acidity.

The next two courses arrive together. Caramel with chocolate and nuts is accompanied by salted vanilla fudge.

Last but not least is blackcurrant marshmallow. The marshmallow is toasted before being placed in front of each customer. The intensely sweet marshmallow needs the light relief provided by the sharp blackcurrant.

I didn’t know what to expect from Kitchen Table and was quite surprised at the seeming simplicity of some of the combinations. However, the cohesive combination of flavours in all of the dishes testify to James Knappett’s ability at pulling a menu together and delivering exceptional memorable dishes.

I loved Kitchen Table and my biggest regret is that I’ve been unable to book another seat there during my infrequent trips back since but I’ll keep trying. 

Overall Rating - 4.5/5