Proud Welshman, Masterchef Professionals 2011 quarter-finalist and all round nice guy Tom Simmons has finally opened a place to call his own. Located in the new shiny One Tower Bridge development (possibly a bit too shiny), the dining room is all glass fronted and modern but the team have done their best to soften it all with lots of natural wood and greenery inside.
While these new developments sometimes just take a while to settle in, we can tell you that the kitchen is well and truly settled already, with Tom cooking up some great unfussy modern British food, with a few nods to his native Wales. We kicked off with a snack of cockle ‘popcorn’; deep-fried cockles from Pembrokeshire served with a seaweed mayonnaise for dipping. Then it was fresh heritage tomatoes and burrata and Brixham crab with cucumber and Granny Smith apple, both providing an excellent light(er) start before we tucked into meaty mains.
This being a Welshman’s restaurant, lamb comes top of the list of the main courses and we weren’t sorry that we went for the spring lamb rump with spiced aubergine and salsa verde. We enjoyed a short rib of beef with pommes puree and pancetta too but trust us, it’s ALL about that lamb. For dessert we just about had room for a Penderyn whiskey pannacotta with espresso caramel.
[URIS id=93921]Tom Simmons has created a great, unpretentious restaurant here and we’re already plotting a return for a Sunday roast – and yes, we’ll be getting the lamb.
2 Still Walk, London SE1 2RA
tom-simmons.co.uk