REVIEW: The Pearson Room, Reebok Sports Club, Canada Square, Canary Wharf

Roaming around the financial district of Canary Wharf has never been my playground. So when i made my way deep in to the heart of it all i realised there’s actually something quite exciting about it all. Not only the multitude of fine dining restaurants for wooing clients over, but also the tranquil industrial side of Thames mixed with what feels like stumbling around the blocks of New York. With the building so sky-high, judging where you are is barely impossible. Even Google maps seemed to think i was always in the building next door. I was late for my booking, and incredibly lost.

Once we finally, and I’d like to exaggerate that word ‘finally‘ found The Pearson Room, which is located in the Reebok centre – we were glad to just sit and relax. There really is no indicators to this restaurant existing. You have to find a tiny Reebook sign, pass a Waitrose and get in the correct lift. I’m sure passing trade is completely unheard of here. But they can’t exactly help that, it’s only huge buildings in Canary Wharf, no standalone restaurants on the sidewalk. A cheeky Bourbon sour proved to be one of the best I’d had. A Negroni, while excellent really could have done with a little more strength. Olives too, the mammoth kind were incredible and tossed in a little light vinegar.

Service here at The Pearson Room was immaculate. From the moment we sat down our waiter couldn’t have done enough for us. Starters shortly arrived and first to come out was a seabass ceviche with ginger, sesame seeds and some sort of tortilla type crackers. The actual flavour of this dish was lovely, but the main problem (of which my photos don’t really show) was the portion size. It was like eating a tapa or bar snack. Three fork fulls and it was gone. It barely scraped the sides and for £10 this was asking alot. Eating it slowly is key as to refrain from not sitting with an empty plate in front of you while your other dining partners are still only halfway through their starters.

Deep fried chipirones (tiny squid) were seasoned to perfection, covered in chopped green chillies, sprinkled with lots of coriander and served with a jalapeno mayonnaise. Again it was hard to fault and that heat and seasoning were so unbelievably moreish you couldn’t help but shovel them in at the speed of lightning. A problem arose again, portion sizes. The dish itself felt again more like a tapa or bar snack, and not at all like a starter. If this was made the same way with either calamari rings, or just something else on the side i could get it, but as it was i couldn’t quite work out what to make of it as a starter.

Main courses came out and to our surprise portion sizes were near perfect. And actually so were the dishes – almost. Rib-eye steak with black truffle butter and a rocket salad with Parmesan was exactly the sort of dish we were craving that evening. Cooked medium rare the meat was as soft as butter, and tender to the fork. Although a little cold in the middle. We were willing to overlook this due to the intense flavour and smokiness from the grill managing to seep its way through every fibre of meat. Rocket was peppery and the truffle butter which could have easily overpowered was subtle and earthy. A lovely dish whose side of buttered mash let it down, as of course did the meat not being completely warm all the way through.

Opting for the special of the day out came the grilled monkfish. Served on a bed of richly flavoured risotto, chopped herbs and pieces of crispy salty bacon. It was a dish which really didn’t match the description i was described, but actually its arrival was a much welcomed one. The quantity of monkfish was questionable but with risotto being such a heavy thing it actually worked out for the best. Except I’m sure some people may be a lot hungrier than me and be disappointed with only a few cubes of this gorgeous fish on their plate. I couldn’t fault that risotto’s flavour, buttery, oozing flavour and with that all important bite.

When the dessert menu came out we were hoping that there may at least be some orderly balance in the dishes this time round. And in fact one of them was very well balanced. A fried apple pie with vanilla ice cream. Not too dissimilar from what we’d normally refer to as a McDonald’s Hot Apple Pie (although making the latter sound repulsive). Fried perfectly, covered with sugar and filled with an apple spiced mixture that reminds you far too much of the impending Christmas season just round the corner. Served with good quality ice-cream (home-made i suspect) and dollops of fruit coulis. It lived up to being just as good as it looked.

I’m all for presentation but when my chocolate fondant with caramel ice-cream came out i wasn’t sure if i should be taking the hint with my plate cocoa decorated with a Bethlehem Star. That or one of the chefs went a little crazy with the paintbrush. It just looked a messy. All that being said you couldn’t deny how good that chocolate fondant was. Soft and firm on the outside, but runny, smooth, decadent and richly flavoured on the inside. Ice cream was good and that little extra helping of sauce and fresh fruits around the plate gave it a sort of black forest gateaux. Gorgeous.

I was slightly baffled by my meal at The Pearson Room. Overall the food was good, and sometimes excellent but what it lacked were the basics. Such as presentation, steak being warm all the way through and most importantly – portion sizes. The strange thing was that at the end of our meal, while deciding on a digestive to wash our food down we turned over our menu, and there were the bar snacks – chipirones and ceviche. There is certainly some talent here in the kitchen and with new Head Chef Tim Tolley on board perhaps it just needs to find its feet. Because if the rest of the food can match those incredible desserts then I’m sure this place could become much more of a destination restaurant – which essentially is what every chefs wants to see their restaurant become.

7/10