I recently went to Medlar with my fiancé Pascal. Several friends have been and really recommended it plus it has been on my restaurant list since it opened 2 years ago!! I was really excited and had been drooling over the menu for days beforehand and obviously the foodspotting photos too. Thankfully Medlar did not disappoint.
Medlar is set up by two guys who used to work together at Chez Bruce and according to their website they aim to cook seasonal ingredients from the British Isles and Europe accurately and simply. The style is French based but takes inspiration from all over.
It felt great to be going to a smart glamorous restaurant so I dressed up in my “finery” and did not feel out of place. The space is gorgeous – lots of mirrors, green banquettes, an alfresco dining area and we sat in the conservatory area, which was lovely and light due to a skylight.
As soon as we sat down we were offered an aperitif and I went for my usual tipple – a g&t. Despite studying the menu all week I was still undecided on what to have and so mulled over the decision while munching on delicious homemade bread and salty butter.
I decided to order the crab raviolo with samphire, brown shrimps, fondue of leeks and bisque sauce followed by under blade fillet with café de paris snails, salad, triple cooked chips and béarnaise.
The starter was absolutely delicious – the raviolo was full of crab and cooked to perfection & the bisque sauce was so heavenly I had to restrain myself from dipping my bread and butter in (such a piglet)! All the flavours complimented each other perfectly and I can understand why this dish has been on the menu since the start.
I then had the steak and snails, which was extremely tasty – it came with some watercress and fat chips. I am not the biggest fan of fat chips (I prefer fries especially covered in cheese) but the béarnaise sauce was so incredible I stole my fiance’s so I could eat mine with the steak and his with the chips!! I was so busy tucking in I forgot to take a picture!!
For pudding I had cheese even though I was fit to burst. The cheese board was extremely impressive, there were so many to choose from and it was once again tough to make a decision. I went for a combination of blue, hard and soft cheese with yet more bread and butter. Unfortunately I cannot remember the exact names as I had had a few glasses of wine by now but it was all good!
We were too stuffed to move so had a coffee and then the lovely staff then bought us a bowl of truffles and being the piglet I am I had to have one….well obviously I then had another and they were so yummy I ended up asking for a packet to take home!!!
The entire meal and dining experience was excellent, the service was impeccable, it was not cheap but it was definitely worth the price. I will definitely be recommending this on to my friends and would love to try and go again and sit outside (if the sun ever shines)!
438 Kings Road
Chelsea
London
SW10 0LJ
Tel: 020 7349 1900
