After we devoured one bread basket, another appeared and so did our snacks. A lovely dashi broth which is filtered at the table through to our glass, producing a deep richly flavoured drink that really gets the pallet salivating. The earthiness from the mushroom broth and sweet spices paired beautifully with the nibbles of toasted crackers and mushroom mousse. Whipped until it’s almost as light as air, I remember when I first ate this and I fell quickly in love with it – I still am to this day. If you really fancy pushing the boat out then a glass off rich, buttery champagne is the only way to really enjoy this part of the meal, it all blends together so well and makes for an unforgettable start to the meal.
What always astounds me most about Sixtyone (apart from the amazing food) is how they’re always able to keep such quality in the foods they use, for the prices they sell it at. Attention to detail and creativity is always on point and evolving so much that there is always something new to try. What’s easy to forget is they’ve only been here for one year! Those three AA Rosettes they were recently awarded were certainly well deserved. Slow cooked sea bream, carrots, walnuts and grapefruit was a dish I thought would clash – it’s an unusual mix of flavours. But of course Sixtyone surprised me and instead it all went together perfectly. I wasn’t entirely sure how the fish was slow cooked but it was incredibly soft and flaky, had a nice oiliness to it which seeped all over the plate and the sharp hit from the grapefruit and softness from the walnuts were stunning together. How could they improve on this dish? They couldn’t it was faultless.
Things were already going so well, but this next dish ended up being one of the best things I’ve eaten all year. Fillet of venison, salsify, celeriac and blackberries turned out to be perfect matches for each other. The meat was so perfectly cooked it cut through like butter and had a retained its rich meaty flavour, meaning it easily stood up to all those bold flavours on the plate. Small dollops of celeriac puree were like eating liquid gold and the tart, but sweet flavours from all that blackberry sauce leaking everywhere only aided our longing for more of this. My dimly lit photo may have made it look like a dusty plate, but those specks were in fact gratings of chocolate. No points for guessing for how perfectly the chocolate went.
Too much wine by this point and an unexpected pre-dessert arrived. While I tried to get over the embarrassment of me walking into the bathroom door just before, a plate of charcoal black coloured meringues arrived, laced with a sweet and intense liquorice flavour, a flavour which I’ve never quite taken too but Sixtyone have converted me. That and the citrus sorbet which had large part to play in really softening and harmonising all the flavours together. Surprises should always be this good. The kitchen here is very strong when it comes to desserts and can easily rival their Michelin counterparts.
As the evening got late, and the lights dimmed darker, there was no contending with that orange hue of a light at this stage. Hopefully my insanely witty writing can help to whet your appetite instead. Fresh juicy slices of pineapple, soft cubes of ripe mango, coconut sorbet and a gorgeous cross between a mouse and cheesecake, it was a magnificent plate of food which was every bit as fresh and decadent as you could hope for. When it comes to desserts here at Sixtyone there simply isn’t any room for improvement. I overheard a neighbouring table delving in to this course and I never heard any words leave their mouths, only noises – that’s always a good sign.
Incredibly full and very drunk, we perked ourselves up before leaving with a quick coffee. Sadly petit fours weren’t in action that evening. Even though we were too full to probably eat them, it would have been nice to see fellow diners enjoying – because they are some of the best in London. When the kitchen gets hold of chocolate and the workings of a macaroon they can do magic things. It was such a lovely treat to come back and see how Sixtyone all started one year ago. The tasting menu was excellent and their current offerings are just as superior, if not better – which I guess just shows exactly how far they’ve come in such a short time. With a three AA Rosette award already this year, who knows what’s in store for next.
9/10
