Covent Garden Kitchen
So the sun is out, and there is something truly British about the way we are compelled to strip off at the first indication of summer approaching. It’s at this time of year when people start fashion yo-yoing; taking the jumper off, putting it on, off, on.
It’s the same with al fresco dining. You’re in Covent Garden and the piazza is beckoning like an exotic, fanciful cobbled square in Rome… but then the sharp, night air slices across your one exposed arm and you sheepishly have to retreat indoors. Covent Garden Kitchen however, is in the lucky position of having both an outside terrace and a restaurant inside with glass windows, so you can watch everyone shivering instead.
Since we were feeling so ‘Mediterranean’, we started with glasses of honey-coloured rosé that were filled with flavours of the Italian fields; sunny grass, floral notes and spring freshness. The smoked mackerel and preserved lemon niçoise was innovative and light, and the brandy flambéed duck liver parfait was oppositely wholesome and rustic. A tale of two cities. Were we in London or Rome?
After blackened salmon on roasted Jerusalem artichokes, and slow-roasted lamb shank with truffle oil mash and pea and mint puree, I was convinced this was a home away from home. I almost expected my mother to pop out of the kitchen with her pinny on. Covent Garden Kitchen is a real ‘home cooking’ establishment. This is no frills food without the ‘pub grub’ label and just what you would want and wouldn’t find in Central London.
Convinced now that we were in fact in London and not Rome, a devilishly dark chocolate brownie was just the treat to send us off satisfied and happy. And anyhow I didn’t want my mother to run out of the kitchen brandishing a rolling pin: it was past my bedtime.
By Gabriella Patterson
Covent Garden Kitchen, 6a The Market, WC2E 8RA
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