Return to No 97

In the year or so since we first went to No 97,  we have been back a couple of times, once in a group of 5 and once on Valentine's Day. Each time was good, but not special, with the emphasis seemingly on the presentation rather than the flavour. 

B decides we should go there again after the farmer's market, which goes on outside. She booked a table, but in fact there is plenty of room when arrive. Others do arrive later though. This time we are in the main restaurant on the ground floor, a nice enough room, but with rather strange plastic flowers over the bar ("counter"). 

As usual there is a limited choice of three options per course, one of which is vegetarian. After an amuse bouche of cod roe on crackers, B has the spiced gin cured salmon to start. This is quite a thick slab, more like sashimi. Typically beautiful, but very tasty indeed. My starter is lamb loin, half-a-dozen slices, with aubergine caviar. This is stunning. It is so tender and moist with really great flavour. Both dishes appeared to be small, but are so full of taste that we savour them and find they are plenty. The vegetarian starter was "virtual" ravioli - not sure what that was!

B's main was chicken breast, which I always think is a waste of a choice when eating out. This comes with a truffle "bitter ball", shredded chicken I think. Both elements are really good, the chicken also flavourful. My main is the sea bass, apparently with crab bouillabaisse, though I didn't notice that. "Saffron potatoes" turns out to be one delicate disc. At first I think the fish is more interesting than usual, but as I go on it seems rather too "fishy", not the delicate taste of sea bass you usually expect.  Again the presentation is delicate and wonderful.  We also have the lettuce, speck and boiled egg salad. This is quite a contrast. A big mass of leaves, meat and egg slapped together in a bowl with a heavy dressing. It looked like it had been prepared in a totally different kitchen. 

Dessert is either cheese for a supplement or a dark chocolate tart with popcorn and "Guinness", so we have one of those to share, with a "pop-tini" (vodka, coffee liqueur and popcorn syrup) to complement it. We just ordered one drink, thinking you would pour it over the tart, but the charming waiter insists on bringing us one each, in elegant glasses. It is a lovely, powerful drink. The tart itself looks fantastic with the popcorn on top, and is good bitter flavour, The "Guinness" is a small pot of chocolate mousse with cream on top. 

As I mentioned, the waiter has been very friendly, helpful and generous. The background music is quite low, late 60s classics with the occasional foray into early 70s. We had two bottles of their cheapest wine, a fruity Verdejo, at £28 each. Sparkling water is free. So at £27 for two courses and £32 for three, the bill comes to £140, good value, especially if like the table next to us you are Instagramming every dish.