Sultano goes to London /2

See part one

It’s now the turn of Pollen Street, Jason Atherton’s magical restaurant. It’s 1 pm and we’re on time as always. Nice colours, a packed restaurant. My technical eye leads me to recognise that almost everyone has asked for the set menu (it was in London, in fact, that I learnt to introduce a set menu in my own restaurant, one for 45 euros and one for 59 including drinks. At Pollen Social the set menu includes 2 dishes for 29 pounds and 3 for 39).

The welcome is exceptional: Hot mushroom soup with milk foam – delicious (almost as my oyster cappuccino :-)). We chose from the menu: the chef’s quail which is still flying in my head, great... The Irish lobster was fantastic. Just like our Sicilian maculated sea elephant... We continued with an Irish wild sea bass and finished with Rolled pork stew. We paired it with Henri Giraud’s Esprit.

I eat like any diner who wants to have fun. Of course this is the sense, I don’t want to analyse each dish as if I were dissecting it. Sometimes I see colleagues destroying the magic in the dish by dividing it all and eating each ingredient separately. I prefer to relax and enjoy the evening.

We stopped at Fulham. Dinner at Harwood Arms with a very dear friend from Palermo who lives in London with his wife. He’s a philosopher with an immense, fascinating and passionate wine culture. A beautiful evening. The place is very cosy and the manager is affable. As they usually do in London, he had “studied” us before our arrival. The Wild partridge is exceptionally simple, the pork is the result of a perfect cooking (the best in London, the pig, that is), an amuse-bouche made with smoked salmon and a sort of Béarnaise sauce and a very good venison chosen by my friends and served on an excellent platter. I must say that a part from salads and sprouts, I missed some true vegetables.

In the morning, at 7, breakfast in the hotel and then off to Notting Hill Gate. Shops were still closed. We walked towards Portobello market. I was stricken by a small shop selling antiques (another big passion of mine). I found a bargain: silver cutlery that I believe will enrich my service at the restaurant. They have a British, refined and elegant design: they’re beautiful!

Dinner at Lima. The restaurant is too chaotic (acoustically) and too crowded. The tables are small: I can hardly hear the waiter talking to me. But the chaotic atmosphere, as soon as the dishes arrive, with their exotic echo, suddenly becomes festive and sparkling. The citrusy mirth, the swing going from spicy to sweet and herbaceous cuddles me in a totally cheerful feeling. The dishes are colourful, the flavours are lively and sometimes unknown, making my taste buds curious. I remember the Salmon with pepper and lemon, ginger and hot ceviche and the two Quinoa with avocado and Tiger’s milk.

The journey continued the following day with lunch at Hibiscus. As soon as we entered, I recalled Gabriele Zanatta’s laconic description: "a good and modern French restaurant". The atmosphere is elegant, the hospitality is formal, the lighting is soft. The French sommelier attends to us with care and gentleness. Without being invasive, he manages to receive our complete trust and we feel at ease with the place. The welcome is surprising: Blue egg with cappuccino inside. Then Turbot with butter, hazelnut, capers and lemon, Scallops with pink grapefruit and pork pie sauce. Nice contrasts. And then again the Crab salad with its stock, pear and celeriac: refined, balanced and elegant. Here we enjoyed ourselves with the calm you don’t usually find in restaurants in London.

2. the end