Corbin & King, the restaurateurs team responsible for the likes of The Delaunay, The Wolseley and Brasserie Zedel, have another hit on their hands with the opening of Soutine in St John’s Wood. A little slice of classic Paris in North London, Soutine has been made in the classic Corbin & King mould; an all-day cafe-restaurant (cafe with bar counter seating up front, restaurant in the back) serving up French classics.
The interiors are gorgeous, all wood panels, artworks, decorative tiles, and art deco lighting. When you add in the glamorous, slightly older residents of St John’s Wood, the place becomes a very entertaining place to spend an evening – turn your gaze away from the high street and you really could be in Paris.
Corbin & King aren’t known for trying to reinvent the wheel and Soutine is no different, with a classic French menu that’s the perfect match for its surroundings. For starters, we’d definitely recommend sharing the Isle of Skye queen scallops, which are dressed simply with lemon and herbs, allowing the fresh scallops to do all the talking. We also loved the cured herring with sweet mustard and pickled cucumber.
Confit de canard is one of our favourite French classics so we rarely pass up the chance to order it. It’s a simple dish but one that can still go wrong if the duck is overcooked and dry – at Soutine it was excellent, however, with tender rich duck meat falling off the bone, together with puy lentils and a side of buttery mash.
For dessert, there’s an amazing apple tart that would be our first recommendation, followed closely by the salted caramel eclair.
The food at Soutine is some of the best at any Corbin & King restaurant, and together with its amazing interiors and intimate vibe (compared to somewhere like Zedel), this might just be one of our favourites of their creations so far. If you’ve enjoyed their other restaurants, you’ll definitely love Soutine.
60 St Johns Wood High Street, London NW8 7SH
soutine.co.uk