Koffman. The name reverberates across the London dining landscape. And yet he hasn’t cooked full-time for years. And who remembered him chiefly for rabbit? Was it not that trotter dish that was his unforgettable calling card?
The pop-up on Selfridges gave us a tantalising reminder of what was to come, the rumours rumbling for several years about Pierre’s return. At that point, Koffman’s trotter dish was king, this they told us, is the iconic Koffman moment. The rabbit cowered in the corner.
Why will it work? Because it’s Koffman. There is unswerving loyalty for his name, for his history, and deservedly so. Three Michelin stars at La Tante Claire, a parade of top chefs who have been schooled under him, and utter respect from his peers.
It feels like it has been around forever, and has already glided into the slipstream of successful new London openings. Who’s here? A table with Ladies who lunch. A booming voiced actor next to me. Some tourists. Fay Maschler on the second night. It’s this appeal to everyone of the Koffman brand that will hold the place together. Front of house are supremely experienced too, with the genial and suave Frenchman Eric Garnier keeping a gentle yet steady hand on proceedings. Mark Botes as Head Sommelier is another calming influence, previously with The Boxwood Cafe on the same site, and then there is the affable Claire Harrison as host, Pierre’s partner.
The pig is important to Pierre, thanks to that trotter dish, and he gives it due reverence here with a couple of touches, a wooden pig is the cloakroom tag, the pig makes a cheeky appearance on the back of the menu.
A devastating rabbit dish steals the show. I’ll start with the rabbit, I have to start with the rabbit.
Roasted rabbit with Dijon mustard - It’s a wow dish. It arrives and you utter the word even if you hate the word (or mutter it silently), it is that kind of dish. It comes as a monument to rabbit. A couple of oh-so tender pieces of loin are stuffed with chicken liver and herbs, the leg beneath, and then many diverting additions, Girolles here, artichoke there, oh look there’s some particularly flavoursome dinky turned carrots, oh and here we have roasted cherry tomatoes sitting on top. Best rabbit dish in London? If there’s a better one, I haven’t had it.
Snails, girolles, garlic and mashed potatoes - Earthy snails hiding under a swamp-like luminous green froth, extracted lovingly from parsley I’m told. Fluffy mash hiding away down there too. Subtle garlic note throughout. Satisfying and somehow comforting.
Tender leeks with smoked eel - Pretty leek terrine, and a couple of great pieces of eel, subtly smoky, room temperature, sublime and silky – better than the eel at St John. Punchy vinaigrette drizzled around, a few spiced cashews.
Fresh crab with celeriac and apple - Mayonnaise heavy puck of crab and chives sitting in a perky pea puree. A bit mayo heavy for me.
Scallops with squid ink – Simply seared, sitting on top of cauliflower puree, a slick of darkest squid ink, a stripe of Romesco sauce. Classic.
Pig’s trotter stuffed with sweetbreads and morels – The iconic signature of Koffman, this delivers shattering richness in waves, sweetbreads and morels entwined, gelatinous trotter holding everything together quite wickedly. Gutsy, earthy, utterly decadent.
Braised Beef cheeks - Dense, well-hung meat with a twang, falls apart in a red-wine charged sauce. A lot of meat.
Pistachio souffle with pistachio ice-cream - Pistachio cloud of perfect lightness. Like eating a pistachio cloud. This is really very good indeed, benchmark souffle.
Champagne bomb with Guinness sorbet - Cute touch, irresistible menu name. Sorbet tastes properly of Guinness, no compromise here, a pink jewel of sorbet on top.
The room has a calming pastel easiness to hit, which could feel a bit stiff when it’s not full. No matter. They are already fully booked, and limiting the number of covers they are taking in the first few weeks, to make sure they are getting as much right as they can.
This is two fingers up to the Noma influence. This is what Koffman does best. This is why people will come to his restaurant, and continue to return.
And the whole time he was away he was plotting, and scheming, and perfecting a rabbit dish specially for the new restaurant that would steal some of the glory from the pig.
The rabbit must be pissing itself with laughter. Click to continue »
