REVIEW: The World’s End Market, King’s Road, Chelsea

Venture a little further up the King’s Road in to the World’s End area (me neck of the woods) and you’ll discover a shiny new restaurant called, The World’s End Market. Set on the former site of The Scene, this new addition is exactly what this part of town has been begging for. Don’t get me wrong, this new opening isn’t pushing culinary boundaries, but instead it’s serving fresh, reliable food (sometimes excellent) at sensible prices – all housed in a cool, edgy dining room, with a swanky bar area to sip on cocktails. From said bar, an espresso martini was terrible (needs some work, quickly), but the mai tai was absolutely perfect and went down a treat. A starter of tuna carpaccio with ginger, jalapeño chilli and coriander dressing was a absolutely stunning plate of food. The fish was beautiful, the juice was zesty and light – it was all a real pleasure to eat. The only problem was, there was hardly any of it. This close up shot may look well portioned, but in reality it really wasn’t. Beef up the portion size and The World’s End Market are on to a winner with this dish.

Another beautifully presented (and tasting) dish was this sea bass tarter with gherkins and capers. I wasn’t entirely sold at first on the gherkin element mixed in to this delicate fish, but it surprisingly worked rather well. It gave a nice tang in the mouth and those salty capers were a dream. The fish was again as good as one could hope for and I can’t stress enough how fresh it tasted. The restaurant has a huge selection of fish on display over ice, with just about everything piled on to it. From a wide selection of fresh fish, oysters, whole lobsters and some magnificent prawns (we’ll come to those next). The menu here is very much seafood orientated, so do bear that in mind when visiting.

From the grill, I couldn’t resist the Madagascan tiger prawns – they ended up being of epic proportions and were some of the finest examples I’ve eaten for a very long time. Of the four huge prawns, each were the size of the whole of my hand, and were cooked so incredibly well that they couldn’t be faulted. The backs of the shell had been sliced open, ready for dissembling, which made such a huge difference in the race to eat these magnificent beauties before anyone on my table got a look in. All main courses come with a side of fries and salad, which makes this dish priced at £18, a very attractive plate of food indeed. Not to mention the added bonus of dipping those prawns into that gorgeous, herb and garlic oil. Order these, you won’t be disappointed.

Rib-eye steak was ordered medium rare and arrived with precision perfect cooking. Not an ounce overdone. A solid meat offering which is probably the best you’ll find in the this neck of the woods. It could have perhaps carried a little more meaty flavour with it and more age to the cut would have done the trick – or you could just order the T-bone. More sides of chips and salad accompanied, plus a few home-made sauces. The ketchup was excellent, and the mayonnaise lived well up to expectations (if only they could bottle and sell the stuff). For £22.50 too, this really wasn’t bad for Chelsea and they certainly don’t skimp when it comes to portion sizes on the main courses.

To satisfy our sweet tooth craving we quickly demolished a delicious caramel and hazelnut cheesecake. Dangerously calorific and smothered in so much caramel it leaves only a longing desire to eat another. Apart from this beauty the dessert menu is on the whole a rather standard affair so don’t expect fireworks. Despite a rather cafe inspired dessert menu, The World’s End Market is a fantastic new addition to this part of Chelsea. With a solid food offering, cosy bar and prawns to die for it’s the perfect place to relax, eat lots of food, and drink good wine till your hearts content. I plan many a long evenings here and so should you, before everyone else finds out about Chelsea’s new hidden little gem.

7/10