We’re not alone in thinking that The Palomar and The Barbary are two of London’s best, most consistently fun and satisfying restaurants – just check out the crowds they draw to this day. Any new opening by this team is an eagerly anticipated one then and boy they don’t make it easy, with their newest spot, Evelyn’s Table, being a 15-seat affair in the basement of The Blue Posts, the Soho pub they recently took over and renovated.
Even for a team on a winning streak, it takes guts to open a restaurant in a former beer cellar smaller than an average-sized living room. As you can imagine, getting a reservation here isn’t easy but if you go for an earlier sitting (we went at 17:15 on a Tuesday) or try your luck on the spaces they save for walk-ins, you might just get lucky. Whatever you need to do, do it, as this is one of the best meals we’ve had in a long time.
11 of the 15 seats are at a counter around the kitchen and this is where you ideally want to be, so you can see the chefs in action and chat with them throughout the meal. The menu is pretty concise with only a handful of options for each section, though this really doesn’t make choosing any easier. Even after we had decided, we ended up ordering more, as the sight of plates being delivered to our neighbours proved too much to resist – case in point was the steak tartare, served with parmesan foam and capers.
[URIS id=104116]For us the absolute highlights of a standout meal were: the smoked eel, served with super soft potato blinis, beetroot, and an amazing slightly sweet beetroot sauce; the brill with celeriac puree and mushrooms; and the incredible tarte tatin with vanilla ice cream for dessert. But we have to also mention the fresh tagliatelle with black truffle butter and the red mullet with ricotta tortellini for coming in closely behind.
In short – it’s all brilliant. Go now!
For our favourite London restaurant, see our Top 20 guide here.
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28 Rupert St, London W1D 6DJ
theblueposts.co.uk