Ever since I started writing about gastronomy (roughly three years ago), I’ve become obsessed with not just the food itself – but also everything that comes with it. From the lavish dining rooms, the service, presentation and the accolades that follow such as Michelin stars. Most importantly for me however is the experience that dining out can offer and an unusual dining experience is always top of my list. I’ve dined at a restaurant hanging from a crane above London, high-rise dining in Brussels and enjoyed a Michelin star-studded experience quite literally on a football pitch in Eindhoven. So when I got an email with an invite to dine in a new restaurant looking out over a new golf driving range with view to die for – I was in the taxi and on my way. Vinothec Compass here I come.
The food here at the new Vinothec Compass is overseen by Jordi Rovira Segovia’s & Daniel Rodriguez Navas. Both chefs have bags of experience under their aprons, combining Michelin trained experience and Extremaduran flare & flavours to a much-needed area of North Greenwich. With accents from Catalan and beyond, some of the dishes here pack some serious flavours. Looking after the restaurant and the huge wall of wine, featuring 600 bottles is Arnaud Compas and Keith Lyon. Arnaud previously worked for famous wine critic Robert Parker, while Keith worked as a head of wine for Waitrose. Now they’ve teemed up and are looking to turn this driving range into not only a place to hit a few balls while looking out over the stunning backdrop of the city, but also providing delicious wines and food to compliment them. We started out Spanish inspired journey here with what turned out to be one of the most satisfying, yet simplest of all dishes. Flash cooked baby squid, drench in olive oil, garlic and complimented with a ripe skinned tomato – I could have eaten this tiny mouthful all day long, but sadly it ended rather quickly.
Although I’d like to have visited Vinothec Compass over a solid three course meal, the restaurant really wanted us to get a feel of Jordi & Daniel’s cooking and put together a special tasting menu. First out to the table was a smoked trout salad with featured roe, asparagus, pea shoots and who knows what else. A perfectly palatable salad, though nothing to write home about. The wine pairing on the other hand was lovely. A beautiful pink blush coloured Moroccan rosé – who knew this country produced wines just this quaffable? Suckling pig with piquillo pepper was served slightly on the tiny side (about a mouthful) and after practically inhaling it, I really wished there was a little more on my plate – because it really was delicious. The pork was beautifully cooked, complete with crunch, chewy rind (the good kind) and layers of meat falling into intertwined pockets of melt-in-the-mouth fat. A single potato on the plate seemed lost and a little old-fashioned, along with that 80’s drizzle of balsamic glaze – but the flavours were all here.
The more you delve into the menu here at Vinothec Compass the better and more interesting the food becomes. Dishes such as the cod confit with romesco sauce was a lovely playful dish, full of flavour and intrigue. The pristine white flesh of the fish was incredibly juicy but again, I just needed a little bit more on the plate to get a real sense as to just how good the dish probably was. It all washed down beautifully with a fresh & elegant glass of Macabeu/Grenache wine blend from Montsant in Catalonia. Dish of the evening (apart from that squid pinxto) was the longhorn onglet served with a shallot so packed with juice it was seeping out all over the plate – a must order for any meat lover.
Finishing up on the creamy Vinothec cheesecake, which looked a bit of mess, though was a little more exiting in the palate and paired with a rather sumptuous Rivesaltes. Vinothec Compass was a very interesting dining experience and with stunning views to match. We hit a few balls before divulging in our meal and while I’m the worst player known to man, something about this place still seems rather intriguing. I’ve no doubt a bottle of mature red Bordeaux before hitting a few extra balls after dinner makes it a little more interesting too.
I’m not entirely convinced I’d come back to Vinothec Compass simply to dine out, mainly because of its location. That said if you can convince yourself a good game of golf on the driving range is in order, followed by copious amounts of wine and some delicious food to match then this becomes one very exciting prospect to arrive on the London dining scene. I can’t think of anywhere (apart from high-rise dining) which can offer an experience this unique right now in London and for golf enthusiast Vinothech Compass will seem like a dream come true.
7.5
I was invited to review
