Noble Rot (can we move in?)

Even before half our party had arrived, Alex was plotting her return to Noble Rot.

That she was the sole Lardy Lady with the willpower to complete a dry January – particularly impressive when eating in a wine bar –  no doubt fed her desire for a February return. And the allure of the wine list was only to be expected from a venue whose proprietors run a wine magazine of the same name (for the uninitiated, ‘noble rot’ is otherwise known as botrytis cinerea, a fungus that develops on grapes which concentrates sugars and acids).

Noble rot – on the vine

It wasn’t just the wine list, though. One glance at the menu, and there was a grave danger that the Lardy Ladies might take up permanent residence. There was roast pork belly. There was comté tart. There were rillettes. There was a chef from the Sportsman (not to eat, mind). There were even duck hearts, reminiscent of a wine soaked meal at Medlar many moons ago.  There was real happiness, and we hadn’t even ordered yet.

The description of the specials caused a minor crisis: just one much-coveted slipsole left, the horror! Thankfully our lovely waitress rushed to the kitchen to earmark it for us, even before we were ready to order the rest of our food.

Serious competition for the fish…

We also admired the unfussy, brasserie-style decor – particularly our table, slightly secluded by a half-partition of glass panes, but still firmly part of the pleasing hubbub of the other diners.

Not our table – but rather atmospheric

By this stage, I was beginning to worry that the food might not match the level of our expectations.  I was so wrong.

Caroline was soon over the disappointment of the slipsole, and we happily shared the rillettes and the terrine. Both were excellent, and served in generous portions.

Rillettes, cornichons and toast

The duck and pork rillettes were served at just the right temperature to spread over warm toast, and the celeriac remoulade went perfectly with the pulled pork of the terrine and its herby layers.

Pulled pork terrine with celeriac remoulade

Alex’s verdict on her – much coveted – slipsole was ‘very delicious’.

Slipsole

And the mozzarella di bufala salad won praise from Trisha as an unusual take on a classic: the tartness of the radicchio and grapefruit a pleasing change from the sweet flavours usually paired with creamy mozzarella.

Our main courses were rather less varied – but no less delicious: three portions of roast pork belly, puy lentils and aioli. What crackling! The verdict: ‘everything about it was delicious’. The pork was wolfed down, but not before I did a quick quality-control test on that crackling, and confirmed it was every bit as good as it looked.

 

Pork belly

My halibut braised in oxidised 1998 Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru was amazing: firm flesh covered in a buttery sauce with just a hint of the wine, and mushrooms. I’m afraid I had to look up the Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru to discover why it was on my plate not in a glass (the 1998 vintage was tainted, but the taint cooked out rather beautifully).

Halibut braised in oxidised 1998 Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru

Caroline, Trisha and I found that a bottle of 2013 Telmo Rodriguez ‘Almuvedre’ (Spanish red) had slipped down rather nicely, and we needed another to take us through pudding (between us, I hasten to add). However, most of the wines are available in 75ml and 125ml servings to encourage sampling – a nice idea given that the prices rise steeply after the first couple of £20 bottles, to a peak of £181 by the eighth of the reds.

We’re the Lardy Ladies, so we didn’t let satiety stand in the way of pudding – and even ordered a plate of cheese ‘for the table’.

Lime cheesecake

Our dessert aficionado, Trisha, declared her lime cheesecake and caramelised blood orange to be ‘delicious’.

Warm chocolate mousse

Alex and I both marveled at our bowls of rich warm chocolate mousse – rather like extreme hot chocolate – which came topped with small crystals of salt.

Buttermilk pudding

Caroline’s wibbly buttermilk pudding with rhubarb didn’t let the side down – fresh and delicious.

And finally, the cheese board. A thin gooey sliver of Brie de Meux, a salty, roquefort-like Regalis and a chunk of gruyere-y L’Etivaz rounded off our evening beautifully.

Cheese, glorious cheese

This feast saw us through a discussion of boob jobs (other people’s) and braces (Laura’s brand new ones prevented her attendance), and even a most alarming revelation: Trisha has a (now not so secret) crush on the Prime Minister.

We loved Noble Rot, simple as that. And given that we were down two of our number, I’m sure we can justify a swift return?

Eva

 

Noble Rot, 51 Lamb’s Conduit St, London WC1N 3NB http://noblerot.co.uk/wine-bar @noblerotbar