Tom Aikens 43 Elystan Street, London SW3
It serves food that is the height of fashion, but will Tom Aikens pique interest – or anger?
Sunday 06 May 2012
There's a saying in fashion: "Just because you can do the zip up doesn't mean you should." In other words, ability isn't the only consideration. After dinner at Tom Aikens I want to go into the kitchen and say, "Just because you can make crispy milk skin doesn't mean you should."
Those who eat out will know about Aikens – earmarked for greatness from an early age, he held two Michelin stars at Pied à Terre, followed by one at his eponymous restaurant (Mk I) in 2005. He expanded, crashed and burned, got new backing, then entirely reinvented his menu and the room it's served in.
He's a survivor, yes, but what we want to know is whether Tom Aikens Mk II is any good. For the short answer, see the comment about milk skin above.
I take my friend Tina along. She's immune to foodie hyperbole, and likes nothing better than a toasted bagel and a cup of tea but – crucially – she understands fashion in a way I never will. And this restaurant is all about fashion.
We are seated by the window; pools of light illuminate empty tables in the gloom but it's still possible to make out the food-related quotes printed on the walls. They're not inspiring.
Waiters in sports jackets appear in relay; every time it's disconcerting, as though a diner from another table is coming over to chat. A bud vase wobbles deliberately and even more disconcertingly. The menu is folded into little envelopes; inside are symbols and grids for what is on the main and two different tasting menus. My teeth are on edge before any food has been set down.
It's immediately clear from the canapés that the classic French cooking of before has been replaced by heavy influences of the very fashionable (and newly crowned Best Restaurant in the World for a third time) Noma, and its ilk. A chunk of stone comes out with various cylinders and cubes, which Suave Dave describes rather too quickly. I just catch blood and foie gras.
Of the starters proper, Tina's char-grilled and baked celeriac with pickled raisins (£10.50) has a curiously burnt taste and a distressingly challenging chew to it. It's served on a wibbly-wobbly plate, though. My raw turnip salad with chestnuts (£12) has a slick of almond-cream butter on one edge (in my house that happens when the dishwasher's playing up) and some rather listless leaves. The puréed chestnut nuggets are delicious. Call me a Philistine, but I'd have been happy with the coarse Hessian sack of rolls (including a fab semolina bread) and the three butters, of which bacon and onion is ace.
Pig comes out on top with main courses, too. I have "piglet" (£23), cuts of loin, belly and chop, lustrous and deeply flavoured, complemented by a pineapple fondant and braised little gem.
And now, with regret, we must come to the milk skin. Tina is, as mentioned, a woman of simple, elegant tastes. She's chosen roast John Dory with cauliflower (£23), as it sounds the least challenging item on a menu packed with melting tendons and vegetable granules. (And don't criticise me for bringing a non-foodie to this gaff: it's in deepest Chelsea, and as such is exactly where ladies who lunch hang about.)
A plate of beige arrives. "It's very Donna Karan," announces Tina. The fish is borderline dry, the cauliflower with cumin rather fragrant and good, but the layers of white matter over the plate are perplexing. We catch the waiter toss the words "milk skin" over his shoulder as he retreats to the gloom. She won't touch it; I do. It's crisp and tastes of curdle.
Because vegetables are treated with respect, even honour, on the menu, I have the candied beetroot pud (£7.50; there's also carrot granite and confit butternut). I should have known better by this point in the proceedings; again, it's style over substance (although in style terms it looks like what's left in the kidney dish at the end of an operation).
The meal finishes with a vintage tea caddy stuffed with miniature chocolate bars and candies. Along with the bread, the simplest extras are the standouts.
The low score reflects the experience rather than the food. It's clever without being intelligent. There's plenty of accomplishment in pure technique – but wouldn't a better accomplishment be empty plates and happy smiles?
4/10
Scores: 1-3 stay home and cook, 4 needs help, 5 does the job, 6 flashes of promise, 7 good, 8 special, can't wait to go back, 9-10 as good as it gets
Tom Aikens 43 Elystan Street, London SW3, tel: 020 7584 2003 Lunch, Mon-Fri; dinner, Mon-Sat. Dinner about £115 for two, not including alcohol
More shake-ups
Quilon
41 Buckingham Gate, London SW1, tel: 020 7821 1899
Early 2012 saw the introduction of stylish new décor – and this poised Goan/Keralan operation continues to offer perfectly spiced food and magically unobtrusive service, too
Quo Vadis
26-29 Dean Street, London W1, tel: 020 7437 9585
Thanks to the recent arrival of ex-Blueprint Café chef Jeremy Lee, Sam and Eddie Hart's polished Soho spot is now a rendezvous that really buzzes
Portal
88 St John Street, London EC1, tel: 020 7253 6950
Portuguese food takes on a new dimension at Antonio Correia's classy restaurant/ bar; recently revamped, the intriguing premises now boast a tapas room, too
Reviews extracted from 'Harden's London and UK Restaurant Guides 2012' www.hardens.com
Life & Style blogs
Wandsworth tops aspiring young professionals hotspot list
Other popular areas include Didsbury, Clifton in Bristol, central Cambridge and West Bridgford
Christian GPs and the morning after pill: Much needed clarification
Doctors are allowed to have personal beliefs, just as long as these beliefs do not interfere with th...
-
Living with Google Glass: what are they actually like to wear?
-
Mothers' diets may harm IQs in two-thirds of babies
-
Xbox ONE: 'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system': Microsoft finally unveils its latest console
-
Microsoft's Xbox One: Have the price (£399) and release date (30 November) been leaked by online retailer Zavvi?
-
Teenagers 'burdened' by Facebook are turning to Twitter says new study
- 1 Terror at Woolwich barracks: Attacker tried to behead and disembowel British soldier
- 2 Mothers' diets may harm IQs in two-thirds of babies
- 3 Gay couple beaten in park urge MPs to moderate language on gay marriage
- 4 After woman sells virginity for $780,000, here are the results of our prostitution survey
- 5 Far-right French historian, 78-year-old Dominique Venner, commits suicide in Notre Dame in protest against gay marriage
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
How to say ‘I’m a sellout’
Why clubs are keen to take a stand




Comments