I love visiting Michelin Bib Gourmand Restaurants, and I love the even more tasting menu.
To me, a tasting menu is a culinary journey in which the chef guides me through his/her most-confident signature dishes, to reflect the core value of a restaurant.
Box-E, listed as a Michelin restaurant (and Bib Gourmand) for 7 consecutive years, serves a 7-course unwritten tasting menu and costs £55 per person.
Looks very promising I’d say. And it delivers more than I expected.
Wow, 7 courses. I suppose every dish is cute and tiny, and even you find it tasty, but you can’t get more because there’s only one bite on the plate. I call it fancy.
But I am wrong — each dish is in proper portion, not finger-sized, and served at a comfortable pace. As a small-tummy person, I find myself not being over-fed, certainly more than enough, yet I left happily and looking forward to their new seasonal menu.
This amazing 7-course tasting menu starts with homemade bread with whipped butter seasoned with seaweed.
Followed by a stunning starter —onglet, Isle of Wight tomatoes, green olives.
Then we have wonderfully Roasted courgette with burrata, chilli and sumac. A dish where vegetable shines. My type of thing.
Another starter in a smart combination — smoked trout, golden beetroot, buttermilk, horseradish. Earthy beetroot matches so well with the strong trout.
Then, the showstopper — hake, crushed Cornish new potatoes, dill, preserved lemon, gem lettuce. The perfectly cooked hake just makes my day! Super crispy and well-seasoned. With that little piece of gem lettuce? I don’t know why but I just LOVE it!
The fifth course is also a reduced size of a main — rump of lamb, cannellini beans, smoked paprika, pickled fennel, yogurt. Look at the pink-ish tender lamb lying on a bed of creamy beans…yum!
Next one, cheese. Well. I normally don’t eat cheese like this because I feel my body can’t take so much lactose. However, this Pennard Vale with apple chutney is quite a pleasure to enjoy — tastes like Cheddar but more mild, just great with the sweet and sour chutney.
Palate cleanser. Cheers!
And we come to an end of the journey. Very much appreciated that they served us two different kinds of dessert. Fantastic! I personally am a big fan of chocolate mousse, but the vanilla pannacotta is so outstanding that its wobbly texture just blew me away!
When the weather permits, it’s so good to sit on the terrace which oversees the harbour. The vivid and lively Wapping Wharf neighbourhood makes the ambiance even better.
We thoroughly enjoyed everything, starting from the impression of making a reservation, to the warm service we received, throughout the whole wonderful culinary journey. BOX-E, you made my birthday perfect! Thank you!
