Roganic. Marylebone, London.
Roganic. Marylebone, London.
Rarely do I enjoyed a tasting menu more, as when Simon Rogan is at the helm.
Simon Rogan’s previous digs “Fera” at the uber hotel Claridges was, for me, a defining moment in conceptualising the idea of a local English food. I dined there on one of my early trips to London and truely marvelled at what inspired English food was, and could be. Even more interesting given the post "Lyles of Shoreditch” perspective, food which shared a similar concept, yet was vastly different in scope and capitalisation. At the time and from my narrow antipodean up bringing it was all too easy to think that English food was all white sauce and corned beef, everything else was either French or Italian, Marco, Gordon and the rest. Yet modern British food is anything but that dreary and uninspiring, it is filled with absolute class, from the chefs, the interpretation and the ingredients. The country is full of masterful chefs weaving a new first class and up dated version of how good the food of the UK is, and Simon Rogan and his team are at the head of the pack. And so I found myself on a cool Autumn evening standing on a street corner eying off a dish or two at Roganic.
The menu at Fera was a narrative based connection to memories and place yet with such a deft hand in technique the food shone from the flatware with a confident elegance. This thread continues in the far cosier and relaxed vibe at Roganic, located in the upmarket Marylebone, in the London borough of Westminster.
This is what Roganic’s food does so well , weaving a golden thread though locally sourced produce with aplomb and modern sensibility.
We arrived a touch early and had to make do with a drink in the small bar next door, a simple Soave and a glass of Pinot.
Ushered in to our dining companions, now ever so slightly late, the restaurant itself is intimate with a simple décor, banquette seating with muted tones. It feels a little like a 60’s bunker, but in a true sense of Austin Powers London chique. Low intimate ceiling, the tables set simply with good quality stem and table ware.
The food is where the complexity begins.
We meet Olly, the head chef, who along with the rest of the team brings some of the ”snacks” to the table.
First up smoked eel and sweet corn tartlet, good start. Not as good as the truffle pudding with black garlic. Let’s be honest, none of the snacks were, maybe the seaweed custard, but this truffle pudding was the ducks guts of the snacks. A cube of bread and butter pudding made with a thankfully undisclosed number of croissant’s finished with truffle and black garlic, simply a delight.
More snacks , beef and oyster, chicken and cod, roe and carrot, all accompanied with presumed house made soda bread and cultured butter. A fabulously minerally citrus and fresh Domanie De Montcy, Cour-Cheverny 2016 from the upper Loire valley (made with the Romorantin grape) was poured.
The meal proper then begins….first up the wine, a Terre Silvate, Marche Bianco Vendemmia 2018. A verdicciho from La Marche in eastern Italy. I am quite fond of verdicciho as it easily matches food, and in this case a 63 degree egg with mushroom and broth. A dish of deep flavour enabled by the richness of the egg in an upmarket sans noodle ramen kind of way.
Next up Baby gem lettuce, truffle shimeji with Bourgogne Chardonnay 2016. The Bourgogne measured up well to this earthy and satisfying dish.
Cornish cod, tomato, smoked roe. This was a superbly cooked piece of fish, delicate smoked roe and lovage puree.
Then came the Duck with trusty beetroot and cabbage as garnish. Once again a superbly cooked protein with simple and direct accompaniments. The cuisson between the skin and the meat was outstanding whilst the beetroot and cabbage, as well as the sauce was direct, technique driven and loaded with flavour. This dish was served with an excellent with the Pinot Noir, Pure Sta Rita hills, pinot noir 2016 Domaine de la cote. This wine was un-oaked and as such a rather direct and pure expression of the fruit from cool climate central coast of California, it was also rather more-ish and handled the duck with nice acidity.
The wines poured to match the courses were as interesting as they were drinkable. Others included a Hofpasch Auslese Andreas Bender 2017 a Riesling from Mosel which was every so slightly sweet with notes of pineapple and fantastic acidity. Also a Domaine Plageoles Ondenc 2017 from South Western France a rarely seen variety and one of the seven white grapes permitted in Bordeaux which was a real treat with the tarts.
After the duck came the desserts, first up a dish simply described as Tunworth, hazelnut, cherry. This is possibly one of the most outstanding desserts I have had. Trippy, wild, funky and feral all rolled into one wooden cup. Tunworth is a cheese locally produced in Hampshire and reminiscent of French camembert. Here the kitchen had transformed it into a composed cheese course masquerading as a dessert, yet still a cheese at heart. Its was kind of cold with a texture of some where between an ice cream and a brulee, yet not quite either, and hiding a daube of cherry. Finished with a lid of crunchy hazelnut crumbs I could have eaten two. Brilliant.
Lastly, we finished with some little apple tarts, ice cream and caramel. So simple a dish to beguile the technique that created it. With every plate that streamed from the kitchen Simon Rogans food showed that an insistence and commitment to local food didn’t mean a brush into the hackneyed and over familiar. It could be innovative and interesting with a nod to the past and two eyes on future staring across the fields and farms that produces such wonderful home grown produce. .
