Executive Chef Russell Ford has launched a Dish of Month special to last through the year at his 108 Brasserie. And if February’s offering is any indication, 2016 promises to be an especially tasty month for diners who decide to tuck in at this elegant and buzzing Marylebone Lane restaurant.
Roasted whole turbot for two with trumpet mushrooms, baby onions, spinach gratin, and potato mousseline (£65): that’s February’s DOTM.
And let me tell you it was a tasty way to spend a recent evening with a fellow fish lover. With the turbot roasted not a minute more than required, each bite was a full on mix of earth and sea flavour – restrained enough not to tamp down that of the fish itself but rather make it each forkful all the more a prized morsel. It was an ample plate to share with my pesco-preferential friend as well. A shared starter course of crispy pig’s cheeks (with mustard crème fraîche, and apple and raisin chutney, £8) when we visited turned out to be completely unnecessary (though quite yummy) when faced with the size of the main course. We found no room for dessert.
A glass of house recommended (and rather fruity) Albarino performed well alongside the fish, though I wonder if I would have been happier if I’d gone with our server’s other suggestion: a more full bodied Chenin Blanc.
What’s up for future DOTMs? I don’t know. But Chef Ford gained my trust – and got my attention – with his February decision. His dish for January read like a winner too: Josper grilled, dry-aged Tomahawk steak for two, with crunchy beer battered onion rings, homemade black truffle chips and bone marrow gravy. We’ve yet to reach the halfway point for this month. So there’s plenty of time to book a table (and Valentine’s Day would be as good an excuse as any to enjoy this dish for two – and there are certainly much less romantic restaurants out there). Just two months into the year, I’m looking forward to seeing how Ford goes about determining the rest of his monthly specials through the seasons.
108 Brasserie is located at 108 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2QE. Find out more at 108brasserie.com.
