The Dairy

Epic tasting a'gwarn

10 April 2014 - Clapham Old Town

As a treat, Mr Eatings took us to the much-hyped The Dairy in Clapham. Clapham is a bit of weird place - the cultural wastelands of the Junction, and the Old Town with some truly terrible bars, populated by tank-topped bogans and alpha-chino city boys. Then this place - a diamond in the Infernos-infected rough.

The vibe you get as you enter is one of a glorified gastropub - it's small and narrow, not particularly bright and there's no linen or anything on the table. But the laidback atmosphere really belies a place with food of the highest standard, served by friendly and enthusiastic staff.

We went for the seven-course tasting menu which takes in dishes from all sections of the menu; snacks, garden (they grow their own veg on top of the restaurant), sea, land and sweet. In reality it's 9 courses, if you count the amuse bouche (a lovely little cabbage and fermented cream salad) and the mini donut petit fours. Which I totally will, because its quantity and quality I like.

The whole meal was taken from the top-drawer (described by my dining companion as some of the best food she's had outside of a Michelin-starred place. She's eaten in a lot more of them than me, so praise indeed). I won't go into everything, but the highlights were:

A bread course consisting of a mini sourdough (served in little hessian sack), accompanied by some excellent bone marrow butter (served on a rock!), charcuterie and a light, yet rich, creamy chicken liver pate. All elements of which were banging. If a little rustically eaten, given the lack of a bread knife for slicing the sour dough. Still, who doesn't like playing with their food?

A show-stopping fish course - mackerel fillets cooked at the table using a cast-iron skillet and a blow-torch. It was then served up on some beautiful stone-plates with a bonito butter (Bonito being a type of shrimp we have since learned). The presentation was stunningly simple - you can tell the head chef has worked at Noma.

And dessert. Salted caramel, with a super-rich and silky cacao, topped off by malted barley ice cream. We can't put into words how good this is. Which is a bit of a massive fail for nascent food-bloggers. But trust us - go, try, and enjoy.

http://www.the-dairy.co.uk/