We first went to Frog by Adam Handling soon after it opened back in 2018, and absolutely loved it, giving it a big five stars
A lot has changed for the Scottish chef since then however, with the closure of The Frog E1 and Adam Handling Chelsea on the one hand, and the flagship Covent Garden restaurant winning a Michelin star in 2022 on the other.
And so, six years later, we are back for a return visit to see how it’s faring with its shiny new star. There’s just one tasting menu option at £195 but there is a vegetarian version if you prefer. The starting price gets you the basic menu but there are a lot of extra supplements you can add along the way if you fancy. We actually did add one or two bits but we should warn you that there is a A LOT of food as standard, so make sure you are very hungry if you’re going to add things.
We kicked off with Adam Handling’s own label English fizz and an array of superb snacks – the snack game here could easily be on par with a two Michelin star place. We especially loved the crab tart, which perfectly encapsulates the invention, skill, and zero-waste philosophy at Frog. The tart shell is made using starch water from cooking potatoes and carrot peelings. These little tarts are then filled with Cornish crab, dressed very lightly with green pepper, and the brown crab meat is made into a rich emulsion. With the legs, they make a powder that is then used to make little crab biscuits and the head is made into an oil that’s mixed with green chilli and garlic and used to finish the dish, before topping with elderflower jelly. That is some serious work for a one-bite snack but the good news is it’s not just for show and it tastes incredible too.
Next up is a brilliant bread and chicken butter course: a freshly baked loaf with Adam’s signature chicken butter, chicken liver parfait, and slow-cooked BBQ chicken wings, which are stuffed with chicken and tarragon mousse and sprinkled with fennel and crispy chicken skin.
Then there were BBQ scallops, finished with a sauce made from scallop shell stock and flavoured with dried scallop skirt. It’s then thickened with a butter made from the roe of the scallop and topped with chilli oil. On the side is warm bread cooked in the scallop shell, perfect to mop up the rest of that sauce.
We then went for one of those extra courses – an absolutely delicious waffle piled high with N25 caviar and a smoked cream. So good in isolation, but in hindsight we have to say we would have skipped it, only because we were absolutely stuffed by the time dessert came around. But if you can handle it, then absolutely go for it. The savoury dishes were rounded out by a super quail dish with green herbs and garlic, and tender wagyu beef with morel mushroom and black truffle from Wiltshire.
By this point, we tried to ask if we could take our desserts home, but settled for a 15-minute pause instead. Desserts were brilliant though, a line-up of caramel hazelnut mousse and praline mousse, with vanilla caramel custard, milk sorbet and chocolate biscuit. There are also some final, final petit fours, but luckily they do have these ready in boxes to take home with you.
Frog by Adam Handling is a seriously impressive restaurant. Big flavours, intricate dishes, and a zero-waste approach combine to make this one of London’s best Michelin-star spots.
34-35 Southampton St, London WC2E 7HG
frogbyadamhandling.com
Photo credit: Justin de Souza