REVIEW: Pied à Terre, Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, London

It still amazes me just how many new restaurants are opening in London right now and there’s still no sign of it slowing down. Gone are the days of seeking our hidden side streets for bespoke clothing, handmade trinkets or a vintage record shop – now you’ll just find restaurants.

With that said one thing we need to remember as Londoners is that some restaurants were here first and they still are – serving outstanding food which is miles better than any of the hipster owned outlets which make you queue up outside in the cold, for eventually – rather mediocre food. So it was refreshing to re-discover Pied à Terre.

I first discovered this Fitzrovia institution many years ago, yet somehow it got lost in the back of my mind and subsequently I never got round to visiting. That won’t happen again.

We started our evening here at Pied à Terre with a jaw-droppingly good selection of home-made bread. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If a restaurant wants to make a big impression, it should always start with the bread. It’s the first thing you put into your mouth and often it’s what gets me excited before dishes start to fly out from the kitchen. All of the bread here was executed to perfection, but a special mention goes out to the olive roll – it was sublime. Nibbles and amuse bouche’s were also tongue tingly good – from the meaty croquettes to the pot of Jerusalem artichoke goodness.

Head chef here at Pied à Terre is Andy McFadden. Andy has bags of experience under his apron and comes over from David Moore’s other one Michelin starred restaurant L’Autre Pied in Marylebone, taking over from Marcus Eaves. I’m not sure if or how different the cooking may have been under Marcus’s watch, but clearly something needed to change as Pied à Terre started with one Michelin star, gained a second and until relatively recently it went back down to one star – however that could soon change from what we ate here.

Our first dish was a soup of chestnut, smoked bacon, watercress and black truffle. For whatever reason I expected this dish to be rather ordinary, but it was far from it. We both took a spoonful and looked at each other with far too much excitement. It was rich, refined, silky and gave so much flavour – not to mention the seasoning was utterly perfect. Presentation could have perhaps been improved – although don’t ask me how. A very unassuming dish to look at was the scallop ceviche with cucumber, balsamic and dill. I really enjoyed the fact that some of the food here looks rather simple, as if it was missing a smear or a few dollops of some kind of flavoured oil. But take one bite and you’ll be transcended. Somehow that “missing” juiciness and dollops I was searching for here managed to be coated and gripped on to the scallops like a glaze, giving off a delicate but pungent zesty flavour. The cucumber gave freshness, the dill fragrance and the balsamic just made our palate salivate. One of the best dishes I’ve eaten all year, in fact it’s probably THE best. Shaved celeriac, with apple, walnut, Belper Knolle (cheese) and truffle was unusual, but it delivered on every count and made for a light but flavourful addition to the tasting menu.

What I really love most about Pied à Terre is that it doesn’t try to be something it’s not or tries to chase trends. While some Michelin stars praise their culinary skills on avant-garde presentation these days, Pied à Terre leave all that to the imagination. South-Coast cod with purple sprouting broccoli, miso butter, black quinoa and sea herbs continued to pull out all the stops, serving a piece of cod so well cooked you’ll be asking just how they do it. Some of the flavours on this dish were perhaps a little muted, but as a collective in the mouth it worked so well. The food here at Pied à Terre is stunning. Fallow deer, fregola sarda, black pearl curry, red pepper ketchup and aubergine was the stuff of dreams. One of the finest pieces of deer I’ve come across, in terms of its quality and cooking – matched with intense flavours such as that tart ketchup and lingering tones from the curry.

No matter how full you feel, cheese and dessert is one of those things your body somehow manages to make just enough room for. The cheese selection from the trolley here is rather special. An intense selection of textbook examples. The Epoisse was the favourite and the crispy wafers were a lovely touch. A fruity pre-dessert cleansed our palate and prepared us for a taste explosion of pineapple, kaffir lime, cucumber and coriander which made up our dessert. A few of my favourite ingredients in a few delicious bites.

To finish off our meal we enjoyed a stunning selection of expertly crafted petit fours.

The food here at Pied à Terre is absolutely stunning. I’m not entirely sure what I expected from it at first, especially as you hear very little about the place these days – but that needs to change. Pied à Terre could do with a bit of a facelift inside the main dining area (more of those copper tiles) but the food is close to perfection. With a new head chef at the helm and the magical David Moore leading the way – I ask you this. Stop queuing in the cold and book a table at this Fitzrovia institution. It’s one of London’s finest restaurants.

9/10