“Some dishes astound… some miss by quite a way”, at Nuno Mendes’s “experimental” open-kitchen yearling, in Bethnal Green; sceptics may find the cooking occasionally “over-engineered”, but most reporters still feel it’s “some of the most exciting food currently available in London”.
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"For the foodiest foodies," Marina writes, " this is as close as we get to a Holy Grail. " Nuno Mendes is hailed as a "maverick"; whose food is sorely needed in London's "often stodgy restaurant scene". A purely positive write up for this East End newcomer.
Zoe Williams (1st June 2010)
8.5/10
“You can do many things to this food – appreciate it, experience it, surrender to it. You wouldn't just eat it and enjoy it while talking about something else. I'll leave you to decide whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.” The critic ducks a final judgement on Nuno Mendes’s Bethnal Green newcomer, but her rating suggests that she must have found the show pretty impressive.
(24th May 2010)
Food 3/5 stars, Service 2/5 stars, Ambience 2/5 st
“This is a restaurant that clearly aims to be world-class, Mendes’ passion isn't in doubt, and his ambition to establish Viajante as a beacon in an area which badly needs visitor attractions is admirable. But his mission is compromised by disjointed service and over-intellectualised food.” A visit to the Bethnal Green newcomer leaves the critic feeling that “experimentation had won out over common sense” - while some dishes are “superb”, others “seemed almost perverse, showcasing ingredients – chicken skin, raw squid, celery heart – which even a mother would find it hard to love.”
(13th May 2010)
5/5 stars
A glowing review of Nuno Mendes' latest restaurant project in Bethnal Green, where dishes from a “poetic” menu are all “balanced in flavour, allowing the ingredients to sing for themselves.” Highlights include a “chequerboard” of squid tartare served with “pickled radish and other little flavour bombs”, and “exemplary” chocolate fondant. Prices are high, though, with “steep mark-ups” on the wine list, but “a meal here's a fun ride that's worth the price.”
Fay Maschler (6th May 2010)
3/5 stars
This is a review of a “revolutionary” Bethnal Green newcomer that reads better than the rating would suggest. The approach of chef Nuno Mendes is “not that of molecular gastronomy but there is playfulness, ingenuity, empathy with vegetables, which are addressed almost more seriously than is protein, and a delight in surprise and shock in both texture and temperature”. Alongside “quite the best bread I have had in ages”, highlights for the critics included “delectable” skate with mustard gnocchi, and a sorbet of lemon and Thai basil that “exploded with flavour.” What’s never really explained, though, is why all this only merits three stars.
Viajante is the latest venture from Portuguese chef Nuno Mendes, who gained a reputation for innovation at Bacchus. His new venture is in the old Bethnal Green Town Hall, a few minutes’ walk from Bethnal Green tube down a distinctly down-market street. Inside the dining room is intimate, with an open kitchen, wooden floor and comfortable chairs with blue upholstery, and plenty of natural light. There are no tablecloths, nor is there a menu in the conventional sense: you choose 6, 9 or 12 courses. The six course menu is £60 in the evening, £45 at lunch.
Marina O'Loughlin (15th July 2010)
Zoe Williams (1st June 2010)
(24th May 2010)
(13th May 2010)
Fay Maschler (6th May 2010)
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