Tom Aikens, new room, new menu

Most pundits concede that it is important for any business to re-invent itself from time to time.  When that business is a restaurant, the small band of regulars grizzling that things ain’t what they used to be is usually outnumbered by incomers lured in by the promise of something new. Tom Aikens shut down his flagship on Elystan Street for over 5 months – in itself a bold thing to do – and then opened with a new backer, a new room,  a new menu and a new baby.  It is hard to assess which of these “news” leads to the most sleepless nights but the baby is probably winning by a short head.

Since his stint at Pied a Terre in the 90’s (where at the tender age of 26 he held on to Two Michelin stars), Tom Aikens’s greatest strength has always been his focus on the minutiae of each dish, but for some that manic precision has also been his greatest weakness. His food can be contrived and effusive – assiettes of this and that, five or so different expressions of an ingredient ranged on a single long plate – but it always held the attention with some inspired combinations of taste and texture.

The new menu is a long and complex piece of paper. 20 dishes within five categories (fish, meat, vegetable, fish again, meat again. Desserts separate. A la Carte two courses £40 and three courses £50. Six course taster menu £55 (the five dishes marked with a cherry symbol plus dessert); and the eight course taster menu £75 (seven dishes marked with a  flower symbol plus dessert). The menu and the pricing seems unnecessarily complex but on reflection the prices stack up very well. For this kind of cooking – and there is plenty of skill on display – it is probably a bargain, the six course tasting menu comes in at about £9 a course.

From the first category the “marinated hand-dived scallop” comes with apple vinegar, lardo crudo, acidulated apple and some rather magnificent apple tapioca. A very happy combination of tastes. “Roast foie gras” is accompanied by a thyme sabayon and smoked onions. “Pork and black pudding” are teamed with blanched celery, crisp skin and celery butter – a simple dish where the savoury notes work well with the richness of the meat. The four dish veg section makes a bridge from the starters to the mains, “char-grilled and baked celeriac” comes with pickled raisins, truffle crème fraiche, and celeriac consommé – a delightful combo, the tang of the raisins and the musty earthy taste of celeriac are made for each other.  From the mains the “turbot with crisp chicken skin, land cress and sorrel” is triumphant – such is the rich, meatiness of the fish that you would suspect it had been poached for a while in chicken stock before being finished. Also worthy of note is the “braised beef short rib” with bone marrow, melting tendons and herb puree. Beef cooked very slowly until sticky; crisp top to the bone marrow; a splash of green from the herbs. Desserts are tour de force and give some credence to the current vogue for casting vegetables in the role of pudding – carrot granita; candied beetroot; confit butternut. “Regent’s park honey, with goat’s curd, Pernod, poppy seed glace and crisp fennel”- the latter a good mix of textures and looking magnificent, like modern art on the plate.

The service is slick and polished. The wine list is lengthy and prices go high enough to intimidate even the deepest pocket. The new dining room is much more comfortable than the old, as are the chairs. The new menu and presentation on the plate is a tad less fussy than the old one. You would bet that the Michelin chaps will be round soon and in due course Tom Aikens will again be suitably spangled.

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Tom Aikens Restaurant, 43 Elystan Street, London SW3 3NT  (020 7584 2003 www.tomaikens.co.uk)