It’s been several months since our trip to Europe and yet I’m still feeding you stories of our travels in London. I apologise Dear Reader, I still have some stories on our 2 day stopover in Tokyo on the way back. Arbutus is a 1 starred Michelin restaurant in London, named after the Arbutus tree (another name for strawberry tree) that grows in nearby Soho Square.
The Menu
Tonight, we’re given the menu and we choose quickly as we need to leave early to make the Jack the Ripper tour. I order from the Pre theatre menu (3 courses for £17.50) and my dining companion isn’t very hungry so she orders a la carte. We let our waitress know, she’s lovely as is most of the other staff. They even apologise for it being so empty which they needn’t do. And as requested, my entree arrives quickly.
Pork porchetta with granny smith apple puree (pre-theatre menu)
The pork porchetta is absolutely lovely and soft and very thinly sliced, like the softest, thinnest, tenderest meat you could dream up.
Elwy valley lamb breast and sweetbreads, fresh borlotti beans and sweet peppers £16.95
The Elwy valley lamb breast and sweetbreads is lovely, the lamb tender and fall apart soft almost like a confit of lamb. The sweetbreads are pan fried and a little firmer than the soft ones at the Blue Print cafe which I preferred slightly more.
Smoked duck, girolle risotto (pre-theatre menu)
The risotto with duck is good although oddly, some random grains of rice are a little on the hard side (arrrgh a pet hate of mine). The duck in the centre is gorgeous and tender though.
Cheesecake ice cream, English strawberries (pre theatre menu)
The cheesecake ice cream with strawberries is simple but quite good, the cheesecake strong with sour cream rather than creamy cream cheese which gives it a tangy flavour and a slightly more icey hard consistency.
Warm doughnuts (Loukoumades) , Aegina pistachios, wild honey and lemon thyme ice cream £6.95
The warm doughnuts are drenched in honey, a little too drenched and dry inside. I try a little but I can’t take the sugar. It’s as sweet as if a baklava was drenched in honey twice. The Lemon thyme ice cream helps temper the sweetness though.
We’ve got half an hour to spare thanks to the quick service. One less than cheery staff member takes my card and swipes it and then with disdain again sets it on the table in a pointed matter. “Sign” he says grunting. Thank god you have the chef and the rest of the staff.
And as for the Jack the Ripper tour, it started off well but then petered off into a “and then I’ll leave you guys here” to much of our disappointment. Another tour group went right up to the locations but we had to stay at a distance (I suppose territories!). However I leave you with a picture of the pseudo anonymous graffiti artist Banksy’s portrait of Jack the Ripper which now sports red eyes. Probably the scariest thing on the tour…
Arbutus
63-64 Frith Street London W1D 3JW
Tel: (020) 7734-4545
Open: Monday-Saturday 12:00-14:30 (lunch) & 17:00-19:00 (pre theatre) & 19:00-22:30 (dinner)
Sun 12:30-15:30 (lunch) & 17:30-19:00 (pre theatre) & 17:30-21:30 (dinner)
http://www.arbutusrestaurant.co.uk/
Vegetarian options: 1 entree and 1 main plus desserts
Carbon Neutral water!
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13 Comments | Add your own
NEVER apologise for your food & travel posts as some of us need to escape (daily)!
Ooooh those deserts look amazing!
I might have to have a little mosie down to soho square!
Would you believe that I virtually live in east london and I work in the city, and I still have not been on the Jack the ripper tour!
That’s it, I’m going this weekend!
Damn, I insist on joining you on your next trip overseas!!
Oh yum… I’m so excited. I’m heading to London in a few months with my sister and we’re very keen for some foodie tips. any other restaurants/food experiences you’d recommend?
I love the way the British manage to have things like English strawberries while we struggle to eat Australian, let alone NSW (which is probably a similar land area).
I love reading about people’s travels.This is what keeps us all in the loop! Thank you!
Adding this place to my (long) list of places to visit the next time I’m in London. Your dinner looks fabulous.
Seem next time you may be able to organise a great eating tour around Europe while educated your paying entourage of fine dining. I read in a newspaper that this type of tour have been getting more popular.
I feel like I’m a sophisticated traveler every time I come here.
The porchetta looks amazing! I guess they have a deli meat slicer in the kitchen, or someone with incredible knife control
Such a shame about the Ripper tour you went on. Next time, go with the other company for sure! Everyone I know who’s taken a tour has had a really good time, so I guess you got a duff guide/company.
Hi MsGourmet-Thankyou so much! I was worried I was boring people
Hi Jorden-Oh wow really? Lucky you being able to pop down to Arbutus. Hehe I guess I haven’t been to a lot of Sydney tours either!
Hi Cappucino-Hehe sure!
Hi K-I’d recommend a day trip out to the Costwalds, afternoon tea somewhere like (Fortnum & Mason) and I’d try and eat at a Marcus Wareing restaurant (we went to Petrus but now he’s no longer there) and a Gordon Ramsay one (Royal Hospital Road is great). I also loved the food at Alain Ducasse at the Dorcester for something so OTT and French and the Blue Print Cafe at the Design Museum for something simpler. Also use websites like http://www.london-eating.com for good deals. We need something like that here!
Hope this helps!
Hi Arwen-Hehe yes indeed! Although I have to say I didn’t think the English strawberries were as good as the Finnish ones which were so sweet!
Hi Nazarina-Excellent, I’m so glad to hear that!
Hi Marc-It’s definitely a lovely place to visit!
Hi Lilia-That would be awesome idea! I’d love to do one of Sydney too
Hi Blond Duck-But you are dear, you are!
Hi Angela-I think it must have been a deli slicer-it was so fine and perfectly sliced. Gorgeous stuff. Yeah there were a few tours happening at the same time, each with a big group. Amazing that there are so many people that are still interested
Wow thanks soo much for your tips. Now for the planning… and the reservations! How exciting.
Hi K-You’re welcome! It’s so exciting isn’t it, you’ll have a great time I’m sure as there are so many great restaurants in London
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