As Damien’s birthday
was coming up, I wanted to find a place really special to treat him to dinner.
I had heard a lot of good reviews about Howard Street and the only reason we
had not gone yet was because the prices are a bit higher than our average
budget to eat out. A birthday celebration seemed the perfect excuse to try it
out.
On Saturday night, at
9, the restaurant was still buzzing. Every table was occupied, the waiters were
busy taking orders or bringing food, and it was as if the rush hour of 7pm had
never stopped. I instantly loved the place with its high ceilings and subdued
lights. The furniture and decoration were sober and tasteful creating a very
pleasant atmosphere.
One look at the menu
and we were both seduced. The food sounded amazing and we could hardly decide what we
wanted as everything was so enticing.
We both finally chose
the scallops for starters and ordered a bottle of white Australian Chardonnay
to drink along.
Our waiter was
fantastic; he had the knowledge of wine and food and was extremely efficient
and attentive. I was impressed.
The scallops were
gorgeous, cooked to perfection, delicately brown but so soft and tender. The
seasoning was genius and so original, with a reduction of garden peas and
delicately pickled cherry tomato and shallot. The bread-crumbed hen egg was
absolutely divine with the yolk oozing out as you cut it and the Parma ham
crisp was delicious and brought a salty kick to the dish.
The main courses were
no disappointment after this fabulous start and we kept being surprised by the
elegant presentations and the incredible flavours.
Damien had ordered the
dry-aged rib eye and asked for the onion and potato gratin instead of the
chips. The meat was beautifully cooked, richly coated in a red wine jus and
particularly fondant. The potato gratin was my favourite because it reminded me
of a French classic called “gratin dauphinois” with the potato infused with
garlic and layered with cream. The dish also came with lightly battered onion
rings and half a roasted tomato on a bed of buttery spinach: delicious!
As for me, I had
picked the pork belly, which came with a potato croquette and some black
pudding. If, like me, you both love pork belly and black pudding, you will love
this dish. The pork was naughtily crispy and rich but without that feeling of
fat that you can get when it is not correctly prepared. I savoured every single
bite. The croquette was lovely as well, creamy mash potato coated with a
crunchy breadcrumb layer. I particularly enjoyed the association of black
pudding with the apple and cider sauce.
We had decided to
share a side of chunky chips and they were as the rest of the food, perfectly
executed, golden, crunchy and soft inside.
Really, I can only
praise the chefs for the beautiful dinner they served us and I have to say that
I can’t wait to be back and try more. The prices might be slightly higher than
those of the restaurants I usually recommend but believe me, it is worth every
penny!
