For our wedding anniversary we decided to visit L’enclume, with high expectations having previously dined in other Michelin starred restaurants.
We mulled over the brief menu in the lounge area of the restaurant, deciding to chose the 10 course tasting menu at £50 per head. It was a Sunday evening and the restaurant was quiet, just around 6 other tables occupied. Located in a former Smithy, I assume the dining room keeps its original form, with the white washed stone walls and slate floor providing a cool ambience to the room. The dark wood tables were dressed with black, faded table mats (remarkable resemblance to cheap Ikea ones) which are folded in half. Naff!
We ordered a bottle of water, bottle of white wine and a glasses of red wine to accompany the lamb main course.
We started with rehydration dehydration – interesting concept and it worked well so I was anticipating what was to come next….
Ravioli apparently
On the website it states that Simon Rogan has a “reputation for cooking beautiful food that constantly pushes the boundaries and breaks the rules in terms of ingredients, textures, flavour combinations, fragrances and taste” – one very important factor I felt was missing as the next few courses came out was TASTE! Descriptions of what we were about to eat rolled off the waiting staff’s tongues, but on eating, i couldn’t find these flavours! Style over substance? Maybe Rogan has pushed the boundaries of his ingredients so much as to obliterate any flavour! The scallops were cooked nicely but there was no taste of the plum, and the bracken merely gave a hint of vegetation.
Foamy course
There also seems to be a desire to make you eat with a teaspoon – I have never eaten so many courses with a teaspoon before!
Once the lamb arrived we felt we could taste flavours again – no sign of our red wine, so we had to remind the sommelier to bring it – could be an off night, but that’s poor service when the place was so quiet! The pre-dessert of creme brulee with pine nuts and pancetta was amazing with lovely textures and fantastic TASTE! The selection of French cheese is fantastic.
Dessert
In the end, we were not charged for our glasses of red wine and sparkling water – when this was brought to the attention of Madam Frosty we were told to have it with their compliments and thanked for our honesty. That maybe helped reduce a little of the sting of a restaurant bill that really didn’t match up to the mark of the food we were paying for!
Ate frustratingly – June 2008
