St John Restaurant, London – Review

We have been addictively watching the Masterchef Australia series for the last few weeks. An Overdose of Masterchef has the effect of turning an average weekday meal into a serious discussion on the acidity of the pasta sauce and the combination of cheese and macaroni, “does it really work?” Watching all those delicious meals plated up night after night got us excited to get up off the lounge and actually go and eat something original. Luckily living in London, you do not have to travel too far to find amazing food; the only real issue is the sheer amount of choice!
Being a serious meat eater there was one restaurant which had been tempting me for some time, London’s home of nose to tail eating, Trevor Gulliver and Fergus Henderson’s, St John. Praised as a revolution in British cooking since its opening in 1994, St John has become a foodie icon. Henderson’s sparse style of cooking everything edible on the animal is not to everyone taste though but if bone marrow and Ox’s heart doesn’t make you squeamish then read on!
With one Michelin star and several appearances in the world’s top fifty restaurant awards there is a surprising amount of mixed press about St John. Many online reviewers seem to be expecting more from a Michelin quality establishment and a large percentage are purely put off by the intimidating menu. Is its status as the foodie’s temple just hype from celebrity reviewers like Anthony Bourdain? There’s only one way to find out.
St John doesn’t pretend to be what it isn’t. Built in what was once a smokehouse, Henderson and Gulliver have kept the decor minimal. You enter into an airy foyer/bar/bakery where you can sample the bar menu over a Brew Wharf Beer (one of Gulliver’s side projects). The dining room is set to the right up a few stairs, a large, uncluttered brick lined space with simple white tablecloths and very little else. The first impression is that of an upscale cafeteria – but at the end of the day it’s the food that counts, plush carpets and fancy lighting won’t ever make up for a terrible meal will it?
Me, my girlfriend and her mum freshly in from New York arrived at 6:15 (the only slot available for a last minute booking) which was ok since we had just been to a matinee theatre performance (Jeff Goldblum in The prisoner of Second Ave – avoid at all costs!!!). The dining room was basically empty and we were in no rush. The menus like the decor are simple photocopied A4 sheets – changing daily to reflect the freshest produce. We ordered a bottle of the house red (St John’s own brand) our waiter promptly returned to spill a few good measures of vino on our tablecloth while reciting the specials. I am not fussy at all when it comes to service but this kind of thing might be the reason St John gets such mixed reviews from the punters. I feel as if the spilt red slotted in well with the cafeteria style setting it reminded me of tables lined with butchers paper covered in crayon drawings and grease from a hearty family meal.
Not being a wine snob either the house red was just fine, although St John is praised for its extensive (predominantly French) wine list. They also serve by the glass which works well if you like to match your dishes.
Ambience, service and wine aside, on to the food!
Famous for serving simple, tasty offal (pr. Awful) based dishes the St John menu also caters for vegetarians and the wimps. The Broad Bean, chard and Goats Curd vego option actually sounded enticing – but we weren’t there to eat plain old vegetables. For entree’s we had to pick from delights such as, Rabbit Offal and Chicory, Cured Beef & Celeriac and Snails in Bacon. The most famous/iconic starter has to be Henderson’s Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad (inspired by the film La Grande Bouffe!) It has been on the menu since he opened his doors and I had to try it. You are literally served three or four hacked off, roasted beef bones full of creamy marrow with a side of sour dough toast and an acidic flat leaf parsley salad. I remember my mum always getting excited at the prospect of sucking the marrow from a roasting joint, it never really seemed that appetising to me to be honest. I scooped my first dollop of marrow out with the supplied tool and dolloped it on the toast. My first bite was not great; it tasted like fat on toast. Once I added a mouthful of the salad though, I got it. The acidic parsley cuts through the fatty marrow and a small sprinkling on the supplied rock salt on top makes the starter POP. Incredibly simple food but very very yummy! Two of us got the marrow and my girlfriend ordered Langoustines with garlic mayo, which were equally amazing, four huge, very fresh langoustines with a creamy garlic mayo.

While we were ordering our mains we asked what the waiter thought of the Snail, Chorizo and Chick Pea stew. His reaction was odd, either he doesn’t like it (which he adamantly said he did) or he thought that our guests from NY were not ready for snails and sausage on the same plate? Maybe the US contingent come for the hype and aren’t ready for the awful (offal) or maybe that’s a terrible stereotype. Either way she ordered it, I ordered Roast Middle white with carrot and my girlfriend got braised veal with fennel. I suppose neither of ours were that out there (think squirrels brains) but I had heard great things about the Middlewhite and we are both suckers for roasted fennel.
The Middlewhite is a rare breed of pig and considering how good it tastes I am surprised it not rarer! I was served four thick slices of juicy pink pork next to a whole braised carrot on top of the cooking jus. Such a simple dish, some might argue not Michelin quality food – but it tasted amazing. The pork was cooked expertly, juicy and full of savoury meaty flavour, as was the carrot. The waiter offered some mustard to go with the dish, which was a great accompaniment. The Snail stew was also brilliant. The snails themselves were tender and had soaked up the spicy chorizo flavour in the broth, as had the chickpeas. It would make a comforting dish in the depths of winter (or English summer!) very warming and satisfying. The braised veal (which was a special) was tender and falling off the bone, the serving was HUGE; it took two of us to polish off most of it. As with my dish it was served simply with the Fennel, what you see on the menu is what you get at St John. What the mains lacked in complexity they made up for in flavour. They were a testament to the product, which is the underlying foundation of all Henderson’s cooking.
I am not a huge dessert man, unless it comes in liquid form. So I was happy to see the blackberry sorbet with Russian vodka. My girlfriend ordered Eton Mess and we got a half dozen Madelines to share. Considering St John’s has a reputation for its carnivorous delights, the puddings were amazing. The Eton mess was perhaps the most delicious dessert I have ever had. Full of tart blackberry’s, luscious cream and super sweet meringue, it melted in your mouth – all three of us considered ordering another to share. My sorbet was equally delicious and full of flavour but I think I should have downed the shot of cold vodka rather than pour it over the top! To top off a great meal (and a few bottles of the house vino) we had six perfect little Madelines, crispy on the edges, and soft and sweet in the middle – a perfect finish to a great meal. The bill wasn’t as scary as you would imagine for such a highly esteemed joint in trendy Clerkenwell either.
St John’s isn’t what you imagine a Michelin starred restaurant ranked in the top 50 in the world should be. But then again what makes a good restaurant? Ambience, yes, setting, yeah, hospitality, of course but…..the food is what separates the good from the bad and the great from the good and what St John is able to do is take a minimal approach to everything but produce massive bursts of flavour in its food and also a casual, un-stuffy environment in which to enjoy it in.
We will definitely be back – especially when the Eton Mess is on the menu!
Posted by Mise En Place Catering and Hospitality Recruitment
Photo: Renée S. Suen