Evening Standard
David Ellis headed to what he calculated was Jackson Boxer’s sixth restaurant on the go, “a Paris-inspired bistro — wanting to be ooh la la, va va voom On-ree, not claret-at-the-golf-club Henry”, with marbled-topped tables “crammed together” too closely to avoid your neighbours’ business chat and gossip.
Some of the dishes were a delight – “those looking for the Instagram hit will want the seaweed canelé topped with orange pin-heads of trout roe”; carrot râpée was as exciting as grated carrot can get thanks to the addition of “spunky black olives”; while the snails with veal rice was “a wonder – the best snail dish in London”.
Others failed, including a raclette burger, pan-fried duck which missed the traditional confit prep and a “horrid” tartare of duck liver and beef. David noted that all the duff dishes came on a second visit when Jackson was not present.
So is the chef spreading himself too thin? David couldn’t bring himself to say so directly, but made it more than clear that his answer would be Yes.
David Ellis - 2024-07-28
