MsMarmiteLover @ The Undergroung Restaurant
Over the coming year, I will be visiting as many of London’s underground restaurants as I can get into, and will be posting my reviews here. I have been intrigued by this new eating concept in the London
MsMarmiteLover has been the driving force behind the increasing popularity of Pop-up Restaurants in the UK. Whilst juggling radio interviews and television filming of her Underground Restaurant, she regularly updates an excellent blog “The English Can Cook”, and is involved in many food events in the Capital. By far the most popular of underground restaurateurs, she still finds the time to devise and cook an excellent 4 course meal for about 30 people, twice a week.
Booking at The Underground Restaurant was relatively painless via the WeGotTickets website despite the 10% booking fee. The site provides a list of dates & events and the respective number of available seats. Once payment is made, an e-ticket containing the venue’s address and other details is e-mailed.
On the night that I attended (a Quiz Night), the BBC was filming for a BBC Breakfast feature which was aired last Saturday, 3rd October 09. The food served at the Underground Restaurant is very good, but it is MsMarmiteLover herself, the theatre and delightful atmosphere that she creates which give her evenings a real sense of occasion.
On arrival we were offered a glass of Kir Royale, and shown to our table. We shared it with two other couples, all in their mid to late twenties, young professionals and real foodies. We teamed up as “The Meat Loving Vegetarians” for the evening’s quiz.
I was pleasantly surprised by our first course – “Steamed Artichoke with Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette” – one of my favourite vegetables; I sometimes cook them at home when they are in season and found in my local market.
Accompanying our first course were some delightful homemade small bread rolls studded with green olives or sun blushed tomatoes. These were delicious and had a nice bite and chewiness to them.
Our second starter, a “Salad of Pears, Walnuts and Gorgonzola” was nicely presented and with some good flavours. The balsamic dressing married well with the blue cheese and the mild acidity of the pears.
To my astonishment, our main course was served by none other than Mat Follas, this year’s Masterchef winner who happened to be MsMarmiteLover’s kitchen help for the evening.
The “main course” was undoubtedly the best of the evening – “Cannelloni Stuffed with Spinach and Ricotta & Topped with Ragu, Béchamel and Edible Flowers”. Our table set about it with gusto, and some of us even had seconds. It was rich and cheesy, with the right balance of tomato and white sauces. We ordered the robust biodynamic red wine @£12 per bottle which we felt partnered well with the rich Ragu. Guests can bring their own wine @ £5 corkage per bottle, I felt this was not in keep with the supper club movement.
I liked the elegance and simplicity of our dessert - “Warmed Figs with Chocolate and Homemade Candied Orange”. The figs had been oven roasted with almonds and honey, and worked well with the chocolate and slices of candied orange peel. It was served with a fat dollop of thickened double cream. I wish I had brought a small bottle of Pedro Ximenez to go with it!
The results of the quiz were announced after dessert and to our surprise, our table, The Meat Loving Vegetarians, won. Our prize was a bottle of red biodynamic wine.
We were encouraged to visit MsMarmiteLover’s kitchen after pudding. I had a lovely chat with Mat Follas about smoking food, about Andy Oliver, whose blog “The Cook’s Broth” I have followed for some time (see Blog List), and also about his newly opened Wild Garlic Restaurant in Dorset.
