REVIEW: 108 Brasserie, Marylebone Lane, Marylebone

Comfortably sat in our squeakily new, leather red seats and before even glancing upon the food menu, an espresso Martini was the only thing on my mind. And a very well made example it was, but a few more shakes in the mixer were needed to add that little extra body and creaminess to it all. The real surprise here though wasn’t the cocktail, but the bread. It was outstanding. A thick, cake like soda bread, tart sourdough and a reassuringly delicious Guinness bread which let off a beautiful aroma. Apparently you can purchase these in the 108 Pantry next door. I’ve now no need to buy bread from anywhere else, and neither will you once you have your first bite.

The new menu here is all about good quality, modern British comfort food with a European flare. One dish which is always overlooked and shouldn’t be – is anything with beetroot in it. This starter of roasted organic baby beets with goats curd, basil and balsamic, turned out to be one of the best things on the menu. It may sound simple, but this dish has so much to give. The beetroot were all sweet, juicy and firm. The goats curd brought creaminess but also a sour note to work alongside the sweetness. The basil pesto was the icing on the cake and all I could think about was if I could ask for seconds of this dish, because I just didn’t want it to end.

Crispy pigs cheeks and a mustard creme fraiche, all sitting on a bed of raisin and apple chutney – need I say more? It’s the sort of dish that screams winter and of course for me to devour it. The pig cheeks were as good as expected, if not better. Once you get through that crunchy exterior the inside reveals some full on flavour, meaty strands of pork. The mustard creme fraiche is rather intense and does work very well with the dish, but personally I’d enjoy a little more subtlety, especially considering that chutney packs one hell of punch.

Once we got in to mains, things started to get a whole lot more serious. Roasted monkfish, curried lentils and crispy shallots. I imagine (hope) the fish was cooked in the kitchens new josper grill, as it was carrying all the smokiness I was hoping for. Moist, perfectly flaky and plentiful (although hidden behind those shallots in this photo). The curried lentils, flavoured to the nigh in curry powder worked incredibly well although having the lentils smashed instead of whole meant for a slightly stodgy affair. Crispy shallots were also a nice idea but in terms of flavour I didn’t quite see the point of them. The monkfish and that curry flavour running through the dish was the star here.

If you’re planning a visit to 108 Brasserie (shortly after this review hopefully), don’t leave before trying the whole lemon sole – it will the best thing you’ve done all year. Served on or off the bone (we went for off) and with the option of grilled or meuniere, you’d be silly not to go for the latter. I’ve eaten my fair share of lemon sole this year and it doesn’t get any better than this. The fish was falling apart even at the sight of my fork and its pristine white flesh, dripping in caramelised lashings of butter. A good helping of capers and parsley gave it all a lovely saltiness too and a drizzle of freshly squeezed lemon over the top – well it only got better. A side of very well seasoned steamed spinach and some of those gorgeous crispy fries were a match made in heaven with this dish.

By the time desserts arrived, the realisation of how much of that delicious bread I managed to put away became apparent – thankfully there’s always room for dessert, even if it does mean for a handful of Rennie Deflatine’s afterwards. Warm chocolate fondant was a bit of an oddity, mainly because it was served with vanilla ice cream, instead of the promised peanut butter kind – which was what made me order this dish in the first place. The ice cream ended up being perfectly ordinary and the fondant rather good, but that promised flavour of peanut butter left a little dampener on the palate but at least that rich, gooey chocolate seeping out was as good as can be.

Cheeses were from the only place to buy good cheese in London – La Fromagerie. So many times I’ve ended up in their Marylebone branch and on most occasions leave with the intense cheesy smell lingering on to my clothes for the next couple of days. The cheese selection chosen here at 108 Brasserie thankfully requires no clothes burning but does require a little waiting for it to hit room temperature, but from then onwards its all high praise. The chutney on the other hand was very peculiar, tasting more like a tomato pasta base sauce, rather than a chutney.

With a fresh face and revamped menu there is only one way the food and service can go here – and that’s up. It’s lovely to see this area becoming such a foodie destination, but it’s also great to see restaurants like 108 Brasserie keeping up with the times, as London is still currently the middle of becoming one of the food capitals of the world, and very quickly too. With the new menu here there is still a few creases to iron out and some dishes need that extra little attention to detail but its already a great addition to the area and a fine hotel restaurant which The Marylebone Hotel should be very proud to show off.

7/10