St John
Clerkenwell, London
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It’s hard to appreciate the impact Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver (food and wine respectively) had on the restaurant scene when they opened St John in a former smokehouse back in 1994. Promoting simplicity and rustic honesty, they became pacesetters for a new generation – and nose-to-tail eating was born. They got things spot-on from the start, and very little has changed over the years – both on the plate and in the stark post-industrial whiteness of the space. A measured, careful expansion of the brand elsewhere has also remained true to their founding principles. Roast bone marrow and parsley salad (one of the restaurant's flag bearers) is still present and still divinely simple – soft marrow to be scooped out of the bone, accompanied by a little herbal collation with shallots, some sea salt and a chunky slice of toast. Whether it's meat, fish or vegetable, the prime ingredients are allowed to shine. When the menu says 'tomato, little gem and anchovy', you know what to expect and you can also expect each element to play its part. Some descriptions can be brutally concise (‘terrine’, ‘kohlrabi'), but it's easy to trust this kitchen to deliver. A main course of ox liver with beetroot and bacon is a magnificent trinity, or how about mackerel with fennel and green sauce? Eccles cake with Lancashire cheese is another old friend, or you could finish in a more traditionally sweet manner with chocolate terrine or malt rice pudding. The wine list is as Francophile as you'll find, with small producers aplenty and a plethora of hidden gems. House wines open at £7.75 a glass, with bottles starting at £34 for a Languedoc red.
