Just other three months ago now I used to operate a New London Restaurant Opening’s page. It was full of snippets and facts to help you keep track of all the most important London new openings. With a full-time job on the other side of the site, I sadly and reluctantly had to let the list go, because the sheer amount of new openings was simply more than I could physically keep up with. It got a little crazy and even now it still is. Salt & Honey is yet another of those to jump on the foodie bandwagon and expand its toes in to the depths of central London. The new restaurant comes from Tyler Martin, who is the gentlemen behind the much-loved local, Manuka Kitchen in Fulham.
The concept which created Salt & Honey, stems from Tyler’s New Zealand roots which frequently makes its way into the menus – yet show off the best of British produce. While Manuka Kitchen in Fulham oozes that real local charm, Salt & Honey has ingeniously followed and done the same, tucked away on a little cul-de-sac. We sat outside and enjoyed our lunch, a perfect people watching spot, starting with seared scallops, truffled corn velouté & lardo di Calonnata – a small dish, but perfectly formed. The scallops neatly arranged on the plate were cooked to perfection, well seasoned and each topped with slivers of fatty lardo pork fat. A lovely idea which creates some good flavour, but I’d have perhaps wanted that fat to melt a little more in the mouth. The corn veloute was beautiful and really married everything together quite wonderfully. Our other starter was a bit of an unusual one, not because it was bad (because it was very good), but it didn’t quite represent its descriptor. Lemongrass and manuka honey cured salmon the menu described, yet all I could taste was the salmon and barely any trace of the lemongrass and only a subtle hint of honey. That said the salmon without much flavour was absolutely stunning on its own. – though I’d have again liked a little more on the plate.
From the main courses the star dish was easily the seabass with truffle mash, clams, oyster mushrooms and a heavenly sauce of which I didn’t quite pay enough attention too. The seabass was a beautifully cooked example, complete with crisp and crunchy skin – plus juicy, flaky flesh. And that truffle mash, god it was good. I could smell it from the moment it arrived at the table, with all that potent earthy truffle flavour and buttery goodness warming me up inside. A side of rocket and cherry tomato salad was perfectly fine, though lacked any real excitement and the size was a little on the small side.
So far during our lunch, things were going rather superbly, but one dish here let itself down from not necessarily a lack in flavour, but instead with some poor sourcing – or I was simply just unlucky. The fillet steak here was topped with an impressive béarnaise sauce and sat on a bed of juicy, buttery spinach. The side of green beans were for a relatively simple dish absolutely amazing. I’ve no idea what they cooked these fine beans in, but each one burst open with juicy flavours with every bite. A side of truffle fries weren’t very truffley, but still very crisp and fluffy in the middle. The real problem with this dish was unfortunately the steak. While it smelt good and for the most part tasted good – it wasn’t tender, nor easy to cut through. At over £20 just for the steak alone, it’s not cheap considering the high level on offer in London these days.
And then the cheese board arrived. Bringing us back into the land of accomplished and delicious local restaurant. It’s quite honestly been a while since I’ve had such an attractive cheeseboard. Nice crispy bread for smothering (I hate crackers), some blooming delicious honey and an incredibly fresh selection of cheeses – even the dried apricots were begging to be devoured whole. If you visit Salt & Honey make sure you order the cheese board. In fact our last two courses ended up being my favourite and nothing beats a dessert which doesn’t try too hard, yet can’t stop throwing flavour around. Set lemon crème, granola praline and meringue – finished off with a sprinkling of fresh mint. The dish wasn’t all to dissimilar to a posset and for that reason alone I was instantaneously hooked – its one of my favourite desserts and this here was no exception. A beautiful creation.
I’ve been a big fan of Manuka Kitchen in Fulham since the day it opened and so my expectations of the new Salt & Honey in Bayswater were rather high. Thankfully they didn’t let me down and while portion sizes and few areas are needed for improvement, it’s still early days for this very new opening and I’ve no doubt that the next time I visit (and there will be a next time) any of those needed improvements will be well ironed out. Perhaps give the steak a miss here but everything else, especially the dessert and cheese course is certainly not to be sniffed at.
7.5/10
