FAULT Magazine Reviews: Roast, Borough Market

 

London’s Borough Market has always home to foodies and street food lovers and for over a decade, Roast has been at the centre of the hype surrounding the area.With Summer just around the corner, FAULT is on the quest to bring you the very best of dining experiences in London for our 2018 “Where To Dine This Summer Guide” and with that in mind, we headed down to see if it would live up to all the hype!

On entering the restaurant, you’re instantly transported from the hustle and bustle of the street below and welcomed to the cosmopolitan and modernly furnished restaurant; not what one would expect from an establishment priding itself on being “deliciously British” but that’s not to say the restaurant is stale and lifeless, quite the opposite. Located over two floors of Floral Hall, the restaurant is spacious and from our table, we could see marvel at views of St Pauls and The Shard – all rather elegant.

The aperitif menu is expansive and that’s without mentioning the welcoming bar at the front of the restaurant. We started with a Sweet Black Manhattan- not too sweet and not too bitter either, a perfect start.

 

Starter Menu:

Rock oysters with Scrubby Oak apple vinegar and shallots 6 Carlingford 18.50 / 12 Carlingford 36.00 6 Jersey 17.50 / 12 Jersey 34.00

Scallops with spiced apple tea raisins, cauliflower and cashew nuts 14.00

Baked charcoal cheddar soufflé with oyster mushrooms and chives 8.50

Baby kale with sprouting beans, avocado, miso aubergine, feta and salted almonds 10.25

 

 

From the starter menu above, you’d be forgiven for thinking the flavours (on paper at least) wouldn’t be anything to write home about but alas you’d be wrong. I went with the cheddar soufflé with my dining guest choosing the less adventurous scallops. The soufflé you’ll be happy to know tastes exceptionally better than it looks – well bodied and well complimented by oyster mushrooms and chives, at first I didn’t have the highest of hopes but Roast was able to put their own twist on the dish and serve up a real treat. My guest’s scallops were fried expertly and the adorning cashews were given the same fine treatment – if you do visit Roast, be sure not to jump straight to the mains.

With both of us deciding on red wine – we left it up to our waiter to choose a wine for us. We went with a modest Italian Bacchus Rosso Piceno Ciu Ciu and while it was nowhere near the most extravagant wine in their cellar – it certainly went down a treat.

For my main, I went for the beef wellington,  and it was truly cooked to perfection. Throughout the whole dining experience, Roast continued to take what is usually a standard flavoured dish and heightened it to gourmet standard. The exterior was light, crispy and just the right amount of butter glazed, which is a lot to say about the pastry alone but it really was perfect. The meat was flavoursome, tender and just how I wanted it. The course was accompanied with crispy roast potatoes which were but I’d highly recommend the ‘Creamed spinach with nutmeg’ as a side.

My dining guest went with the Hereford sirloin steak on the bone (400g) with chimichurri and chips and from what I hear, it was “banging” – which I can confirm is a positive trait. I did have a try and while the steak was indeed impressive – it also confirmed that our waiter who I asked to select the wine for us is an expert at wine pairing. The flavours of the meat and chimichurri were complimented extremely well with the juicy summer berry hints from the Bacchus Rosso Piceno Ciu Ciu.

Somehow I found room for the Eton Mess which was equally as exceptional but I’m running out of positive adjectives and word count so let’s move on.

So does the Roast make the list? It sure does! If you’re looking for the homely country pub style roast then setting wise, Roast is not going to provide the experience you crave but what if lacks in homeliness it more than makes up for in other areas. We’d highly recommend Roast for our readers looking to visit the quintessential foodie capital but still want a more refined meal than that served on the markets below. Roast is where you go when quality and taste are at the forefront of the experience. Not just for the leisurely diners, it also doubles as the perfect venue to host business lunches with non-locals who are looking to sample the very best of British food.

It must also be said that the service provided by all the staff, from the maître d to the waiters inside was exemplary and a great model for every high-end venue staff in the capital – great customer service needn’t be robotic and the Roast staff have mastered this.

If you’re looking for the best British food that London has to offer, look no further than Roast.

 

http://www.roast-restaurant.com/

 

Monday-Friday:

7am-11am, 12pm-3.45pm, 5.30pm-10.45pm

Saturday:

8.30am-11am, 12pm-3.45pm, 6pm-10.45pm

Sunday:

11.30am-6.30pm