REVIEW: Fera, Claridges Hotel, Brook Street, Mayfair

It’s finally here – the biggest and most anticipated opening of the year. The excitement hasn’t just been contained to London either, but globally. Renowned chef Simon Rogan was chosen by Claridges to take up residency at the hotel after a long stint with Gordon Ramsay – whose restaurant I visited about 10 years ago. If my memory serves me well, I loved it a lot, so the new restaurant Fera at Claridges Hotel, had some big shoes to fill.Simon runs some of the UK’s best restaurants, such as the famous L’Enclume and recently publicised The French in Manchester on TV’s Restaurant Wars. Fera, which comes from the Latin word ‘wild’ was named so to reflects Simon’s cooking utilising foraged and wild ingredients – all affected by the seasons and weather. The restaurant itself also deserves mention. Designed by Guy Oliver this art deco room is as opulent and stunning as its food, a perfect match. Cooling calm colours of pastel greens and ocean blue grey and a ceiling adorned with stained glass, it really is spectacular on the eye.

Starting with the immaculate service which was executed by an army of staff here, water always topped up and more importantly – so was my wine. To start our rather lavish, meal here at Fera Simon Rogan brought over our first taster. Pea wafer with fennel and flowers – it was as bright and bold to taste, as it looked. Quite easily one of the best appetisers I’ve ever eaten in London. It’s just a shame it’s gone in only one bite.

A crispy fried stewed rabbit with lovage tasted like nothing I was expecting, nor did it resemble its descriptor, leaving the imagination to do all the work. One mouthful of this colourful beauty was a flavour explosion like no other and one which keeps you longing for more of it. Delicate, light, crispy – what more could you ask for something you hold between two fingers.

The flavour explosions continued to come at us with speed, with a fresh and delicately flavoured mackerel, caviar and seawater cream. It all sounded like something a group of Sloaney mermaids put together, as if it were conjured up be the sea itself. It was quite fishy (but in a good way), vibrant and so fresh with a real pureness to it. This is the sort of cooking I love, not just for the caviar – but also for its elegance.

Winslade, potato and duck heart was perhaps one of the finest things I’ve eaten this year. It’s not that it was the most complex or technical of dishes (although i wouldn’t dream of an attempt in the kitchen), but instead it had that rare thing where by it was all in such perfect balance and had the pleasure of curing my hate for duck hearts. The hearts were much more meatier than I’d experienced and the Winslade cheese with potato mixture had that sort of texture between a mousse, and stringy fondue mixture.

Bread course was country-style paired with a mushroom drinking broth (like a dashi) had a pure earthy smell and was unexpectedly sweeter on the palate than anticipated – which made it for being rather addictive. My etiquette completely left the room as what started with sipping, became a constant pour in to the back of my throat. The mushroom broth is the sort of thing you’d want coming out of one of the chocolate fountains (mouth open underneath) – minus the cheap chocolate of course.

I’m yet to dine in a restaurant that has managed to give dishes which are consistently excellent, and without fault. There is always that one dish which is either under performing, or you simply don’t like. And here this dish of raw beef, smoke broccoli cream, scallop roe and acidic apple juice was more of a palate cleanser, than a dish. If that was supposed to be a palate cleanser, then it did a great job. The scallop roe and apple juice brought some big flavours to this dish. A taste of shellfish, and a very acidic freshness from the apple was far too much for the raw beef. If I’d had my eyes closed, there would be no way I’d have been able to guess what I was eating. The restaurant has only been open barely a week – so I won’t critique it, too much.

A work of art? Well that’s what it looked like when my next dish arrived. Vivid, bright – stunning. Prawns came from Gairloch and were beautifully cooked with all their flavour and juiciness intact. Prime pork fat, borage and chicory made their way into this dish some way or form – but I was much to involved to care how, or where. All I wanted to do was eat it as fast as possible

A piece of brill cooked in whey and favoured with hogweed, jerseys and blewits (species of mushroom) was plated beautifully and really was an expert showcase of how to cook simple, flavoursome, seasonal ingredients at their best. The brill could have perhaps been cooked a little less but i actually enjoyed the slightly charred crunch around the edges. Blewits were lovely, as were the full flavoured jerseys – which is something I would never normally notice. It just shows what how sourcing well can make a big difference.

The amount of time I put into writing reviews can sometimes take up my life, but it’s with meals like these that you really don’t mind. Writing and drinking wine – it’s harder than you think. I’m sure if I printed everything I’ve ever written I could have accomplished my memoirs a few times over by now. A book which I’m sure you would all go out to buy at full price – before it ended up next to Katie Price in Poundland. Middle white pork with caramelised leeks, broad bean and a mead reduction is just one of those dishes I can’t wait to write about. Ingredients from this mead reduction are grown and created back in their experimental kitchen, along with the homemade honey and anything else they squeeze in to it. And it shows, the reduction was unbelievably concentrated. The pork cooked two ways brought some lovely textures to the plate. Even the peas were fabulous. Cooked, but still with a little crunch and tasting as if they were picked only that morning – which wouldn’t surprise me.

I was really struggling at this point, getting very full up. So far I’d put away a lot of food – and this was only the short tasting menu. We casually moved in to desserts and started with a small refreshing bowl of baked yogurt with pears poached in Perry, mint and a muscovado sugar decoration. I couldn’t think of a better way to near the end of our meal without overindulging – although probably a little late for that.

After all the wine I consumed over the meal, a full two bottles. A beaker of chamomile milkshake with chocolate malt revealing a hidden surprise underneath was on hand to send me to sleep. And a bloody delicious night-cap it was, which luckily didn’t send me to sleep – the wine did.

Fera really was a surprise for me. I really had no clue what to expect from it. I hadn’t been to L’Enclume, or tried Simon Rogan’s cooking before – but now I’ll be purposely seeking it out. An incredible meal ended with what were legendary petit fours and made me sit back and wonder – could this possibly be one of London’s best fine dining restaurants? Barely open a week and feeling as though it’s been here for years – with the almost certainty it’s only going to get better. Is Fera worthy of a Michelin star? Yes, the question we should all be asking – is just how many.

9/10