Is the first Monday of January officially the least busy night of the year that isn’t some sort of national holiday? That’s how this past Monday evening (7 January) certainly felt as Kemey and I ambled along London’s near empty streets in my contrarian (and successful) attempt to have a fun night out on the town.
Our search for good times took us to Marylebone where we darted into The Fat of the Land for our supper. FOTL is a gastropub featuring Catalan cuisine and a list of wines exclusively from Catalunya and south-western France.
The place was virtually dead – as was pretty much every restaurant and bar we passed en route that night – but still open for busy and nonetheless inviting with its low lights and jamon and garlic bunches hanging in the windows.
Most of what we sampled during our dine was delicious. The most memorable dish and probable best was a “para picar” serving of black olive and chocolate pate with melba toast (£5): savoury depth of flavour with lots of mmmming coinciding with each bite. Other highlights included an ample bowl of lentil salad with carrots (£5.50); chipirones (baby octopus) with black ink (£6.50); and paprika pork meatballs with tomato sauce (£6). There was one disappointment though. Calcots and baby carrot tempura with romesco sauce (£7) looked much better on paper than on the plate and seemed like an anomaly among all the other tasty treats assembled at our table.
Desserts pleased immensely. Tarta de Santiago and baked cheesecake both exceeded expectations and ended our meal on delightfully satisfactory notes. I’d order either again and would have a tough time choosing between! I washed down my tapas (or tapes as they say in Catalan) with a crisp Estrella Damm pilsener but wondered if Kemey had made a smarter decision to sip a glass of tempranillo from Tarragona. I was just keeping with beer drinking I’d started at a previous destination but must admit the wine list is a beaut!
Downstairs at FOTL is an attractive but fairly typical pub, upstairs a more elegant and contemporarily designed dining room. We sat upstairs for a more intimate dinner for two but I’d be glad to grab a quick drink or catch up with my mates in the pub section anytime. Service was idea during our visit: cool in demeanour but not in reception. Flamenco played prominently through the evening – a very good thing in my opinion.
The Fat of the Land is located at 35 New Cavendish Street, London, W1G 9TR. Visit thefatoftheland.co.uk for more information.
