19 June 2019
Ever since I heard Chef Simon Rogan re-opened his formerly pop-up restaurant Roganic on a permanent basis, re-visiting has been on my mind. I had a wonderful meal there years ago during its initial but temporary 2-year run, impressed by his use of ingredients without belabouring the cooking with unnecessary showiness. Unfortunately on my last trip I had no time, and I thought I had no time on this trip either.
I noticed they do serve their full tasting menu during lunch, and an unexpected open slot came up for Wednesday — ironically due to my phone being stolen in Bulgaria. I had meticulously planned my stay in London and had a very tight schedule to maximise what could be my final visit; however, due to dealing with issues relating to that loss, I switched things around and simplified my side excursions out of central London. Therefore, I had a lunch slot free to visit the now-permanent and Michelin-starred restaurant.
And lucky me, they had a table available. Unfortunately due to a massive District Line failure (some things in London never change), I had to run to the Central Line on foot and legging it there from Bond Street to be on time; I was soaked in sweat when I arrived…and had to pretty much demand a menu immediately…to use as a fan…ugh… Why didn’t I just ring them and say I would be a few minutes late? I’m such a stickler for being on time, my own stupid fault…
Having chugged a few glasses of water, I cooled off and was finally able to relax. I happily went with the full tasting and pairing, so this should be quite a nice long late-ish lunch. I had planned this so I won’t need to eat before the King Crimson concert tonight, and will just grab something quick after the show.
A nice English pink bubbly is poured, and the snack segment begins with an interesting duo.
On the right you have a tasty blackberry tart, tinged with anise that made my mind wander to a certain beverage… However, on the left the lightly-fermented apple drink brought it all back to the present, a crisp and nice start.
Next up is aerated mushroom with spelt. Pretty interesting texture, and the mushroom essence comes through very nicely. Then quickly we have the second part of the mushroom duo, a wafer of fermented mushroom, cream cheese and other goodies.
Quite nice, the mushroom is not unseasonably over-fermented, and the wafer held up very nicely without breaking and causing a mess (something that happens far, far too often in amuse segments). So far so good. Next up, asparagus…
Well, the asparagus was nice enough, with a touch of elderflower to accent its already distinct taste. The sauce was utterly unnecessary, and the “chicken” there seemingly a bit of a waste. Reminded me a little of the asparagus dish at that cluster of a restaurant in Berlin, Lode & Stijn — where the asparagus itself was more than good enough to stand on its own, and any sauce turned into a distraction.
But so far so good. Then for the final item on the snack segment we have some lamb…
Oh goodness that lamb belly skewer with honey is fabulous, even better, dare I say, than the lamb skewer last night at Kiln… The wee lamb shoulder pastry was also quite tasty, but that skewer meat was just awesome…
A this point we move into larger items, marked by the appearance of the bread service.
Lovely soda bread here, quite delicious. I always enjoy soda bread, for me far preferred than sourdough. A nice Sicilian white is poured and we have the next dish…
An interesting dish that focused on celery and horseradish. I thought at first the former was a little too strong and the latter, which I love, was far too weak. The celery moderated as it went along, but unfortunately the horseradish remained too mild. The treat was the radish, which was delicious, especially in this interesting concoction.
Then with a pour of some Riesling from Mosel we have the next dish, another showcase of Rogan’s skills with quality vegetables — this time focusing on courgettes.
Excellent, lovely quality vegetables that easily makes this carnivore dream herbivore. The beans matched the courgettes in quality, all helped on by some goat cheese and millet. This may have been the best dish of the day, a beauty from the garden. Then next up is another vegetable dish, this time focused on the celeriac…
I generally like the humble celeriac, but frankly this — especially compared to the previous dish — was very meh. Having celeriac 2 courses after a celery-centric dish is a bit strange in my opinion, and I find whey the most overused (and over-abused) ingredient of the 2010s. Sadly, the malt didn’t temper it enough to make this a good dish. The weakest item of the day.
Hopefully that was a small hiccup. A chardonnay from Santa Barbara is poured, and we have the fish dish next.
Some rather good cod in a roe-based sauce. Good texture, solid flavours — all accentuated by some excellent veggies once again. In fact, the vegetables may have been better than the already good fish.
Simon Rogan is a master with vegetables, which was the main reason I wanted to come back here. I miss this type of cooking so much, where one brings out the best from naturally fresh and delicious vegetables — instead of forcing the issue with unnecessary saucing and (far worse) unseasonable (and unsensible) pickling and fermentation. So good…
Then for the final savoury course, we have the duck…
Sadly this was a bit disappointing, the duck seemed to have sat around under a heat lamp. The skin was rubbery, and although the meat was cooked well, it kind of diminished the entire dish. The turnips were delicious though, working with the gooseberry sauce. Just wish the duck was done with more care by the kitchen. A rare execution error by this otherwise excellent kitchen.
Anyway, we switch into the last segment of this tasting menu now, and I’m still thinking of those courgettes and beans a few courses back…that was so good. A nice (but different) Riesling from Mosel is poured and we have the “cheese” course…
Focused on Tunworth, a camembert-like cow’s milk cheese from Hampshire, this worked really well with the delicious fresh strawberries. A good start to the closing segment. Next up, the main dessert…
Unfortunately the pickled rhubarb almost ruined this dish as it was extremely strong, completely dominating the buttermilk ice cream. After a menu that had controlled the acid so well, this was an unexpected, and somewhat unfortunate shock to the tastebuds (and my jaw joints). Chefs these days just cannot resist…why…why… Then a wee closer…
Anyway, that was nice enough of a lunch overall. A few mediocre moments, but a few fabulous ones that really outweighed the negative points. That courgette course was worth the lunch by itself, as well as that lamb. The celeriac dish was probably the weakest, while the duck was poorly executed; but again, those moments were far overshadowed by the positive. So overall, a nice tasting menu.
I’m certainly glad Roganic is back, and permanent. And I’m certainly glad I had a chance to visit, to enjoy Chef Rogan’s magic with vegetables. As long as his team tempers their urge to stare at Copenhagen, I think they will continue to stand out as one of the best restaurants in all of Britain.
Definitely recommended, you’ll enjoy eating vegetables that taste like vegetables!
Roganic
5-7 Blandford Street
London, England