Medlar 2013

When you find a good place to eat, it’s incredibly satisfying to pass it on as a tip to others and then find out that they enjoy it too. One of my favourite places in London over the last couple of years has been Medlar and I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve recommended it. One of the people I’ve recommended it to is a business contact in Kent and as part of this trip we’d suggested getting together to catch up. Can’t say I was particularly interested in driving to Canterbury so suggested the alternative of a lunch meeting In London instead. Luckily my colleague is fond of good food too so this was quickly adopted as a better approach. Even better, I got to choose the venue. So it was time to kill two birds with one stone, Have a good lunch and have the chance to show another friend how good Medlar can be.

So it was a chance to kick back, catch up on what had been happening to both of us over the last 12 months and dig into Joe Mercer Nairne’s comforting food.

So where to start? The Medlar menu changes regularly but there are two starters that have featured from Day 1. The crab raviolo with samphire, brown shrimps, fondue of leeks and bisque sauce (33,929 portions served to early December 2013, or approximately 35 a day) is a really lovely dish but the king of the appetisers for me is the duck egg tart with red wine sauce, turnip purée, lardons and sautéed duck hearts. By 4th December they’d sold 7,923 portions and now I’m responsible for eating three of them. As a starter this is very, very close to perfection. The egg with its rich, soft yolk is a worthy centrepiece but every element combines perfectly. The lardons give the dish a nice salty edge and the red wine sauce a satisfying richness. Tender chewy pink duck hearts add that extra bit of decadence that makes the dish truly special. The pastry and sorrel base adds a sharp compliment to the rich proteins and the young onion kicks in sweetness. I loved the dish and every time I see a photo I wish I could eat it again. Outstanding.

In keeping with trying the established dishes on the Medlar menu, my main was the under blade fillet with Café de Paris snails, salad, triple cooked chips and béarnaise. This is another dish that has been on the menu from Day 1 (19,184 portions sold by early December) and although I don’t typically order beef I’d seen enough praise of this dish that I had to try it. And guess what? It was spot on. Wonderful medium rare steak benefitting again from the sticky red wine jus. The snails were tender and deliciously garlicky. The need for the salad, served on a side dish, wasn’t really obvious but it was light and fresh with a wonderfully sharp vinaigrette dressing. And then you move to the trimmings. The triple cooked chips were fantastic. A lovely crunch on the outside and a fluffy inner that only had you craving more. Except the portion size was well judged so you really didn’t need any more. Last but not least, the lemony béarnaise sauce was wonderful and I ended up dipping everything in it. And I never usually eat béarnaise. Superb.

Moving to desserts, it was time to try something aside from the items that I’d seen before. I chose the pear financier with coco nib ice cream and candied walnuts because I thought it might be a light option (working on the assumption that it’s bad manners to use google at the table). I was a little bit worried when the dessert centred round a cake but that concern didn’t last long. The cake was lovely and light and the strip of pear threaded through the centre of the sponge was a delightful touch. The dabs of pear purée on the plate had a fresh intense flavour. The choice of ice cream was superb with the coco nibs adding a nice crunch and little explosions of chocolate. The candied walnuts were no also-rans. Their sweet nutty flavour and crunch was a great compliment to everything else. This was the perfect dessert to round out an excellent meal.

One year on, Medlar delivered to the level of each previous visit and confirmed everything I love about it. The menu provides really well cooked dishes that are really satisfying and front of house work really well to make you feel at home. I’m probably biased but they have also guaranteed themselves another customer on the basis of this lunch (my colleague’s chosen meal – duck egg tart, grouse, prune & Armagnac ice cream).

Counting down to Visit No. 5 and Duck Egg Tart No. 4.

Overall Rating – 5/5