We spent one evening to do we thought to be a “very London thing” – that is to have a pre-theatre dinner at a restaurant followed by watching the actual theater play at West End. And doing it on a day with absolutely horrid rain and freezing cold - along the same theme, I suppose.
We adored the
Book of Mormon show for a night of sarcastic laughs and right before that, we ate a quick meal at Aquavit just a block away, tucked behind the busy Piccadilly junction. The setting of the restaurant is the one that you wanted to stay all day in – minimalist design with gold accent, high ceiling, marble floor and clothed wooden table inside the spacious dining room with floor-to-ceiling window on two sides facing out.
The restaurant specializes in Nordic cuisine, and the pre-theatre menu came in the form of 2 or 3 courses with classic dishes from the north. We began with a couple Smorgasbord dishes – Nordic style appetizers served in small plates. Gravlax was my favorite dish of the evening – served with generous portion, sliced thick with the right texture and served with a mustard dill sauce on the side. The other one was the blood pudding, served as a thick slab covered in a thin layer of lardo, and served with lingonberries and bacon bits on top. Obviously not something we had on a daily basis, so it’s good for a try and I love the interesting combination of sweet-savory flavor, and rich.
In the spirit of trying new stuff, with a choice of meatballs and kroppkakor as main I picked the latter. Again, it’s served in very generous portion with two big pieces of kroppkakor, or Swedish potato dumpling served with sautéed wild mushrooms, lingonberries and wild garlic. Their texture were soft, fluffy and filling, reminded me of beignets or Chinese “Sa Yung” except it’s savory, and they were served with a sauce with a mixture of exotic sweet-savory flavor.
With a bit of time left before the show began, we went for a quick dessert on the menu and it’s a few scoop of sorbet with assorted flavors. Guess what’s one of the flavors? Lingonberry of course. (the others were sorrel and strawberries) Felt like we just went to Lingon-Wonderland and back with this quick menu.
When? November 28 2019
Where? Aquavit, 1 St. James' Market, 1 Carlton Street, London SW1Y 4QQ, UK
Menu Highlights? Gravlax with Mustard Dill Sauce - the only course without Lingonberries
No comments :
Post a Comment