Food Diary - Jamie Oliver's Fifteen, London

End of day 1 of our London trip, we met up with friends over dinner at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen. They were former colleagues of Hubby's, one of them a former trainee. But we all got along well back then, and it was a pleasure to meet up and find out how they were doing.

Cured mackerel, gooseberries, creme fraiche, pea shoots

We shared a bunch of starters. The cured mackerel, gooseberries, creme fraiche and pea shoots was...deconstructed? Cured mackerel crisps may be a more accurate description.

Beautifully presented, though I think it looked better than it tasted. Actually no, the flavours were all right. I didn't mind the flavours. But I suppose we found it rather underwhelming.

Grilled courgette, almonds, sherry vinagrette

The grilled courgette was another prettily presented dish, but presentation doesn't make a dish. Not that it was bad... just a tad underwhelming.

Telmara duck, peas, radishes, anchovy dressing

The Telmara duck - duck was well prepared, but I think the anchovy dressing pushed the salt levels too far. Thank heavens for the salad. Nope. No pass.

Summer truffle tagliatelle, poached hen's egg

Hubby was not impressed with the truffle tagliatelle dish at all. Neither was I, though I have to say the freshly handmade tagliatelle was good. I guess overall, we were expecting a little more in terms of flavours. It was a good dish, but it was somewhat disappointing in terms of overall dining experience. I mean, yes, well made pasta - but there're many other Italian places I've eaten at that do it just as well or better, and at a fraction of the cost and without the celebrity-chef fanfare. Plus I can make that at home too.

Braised short rib, baby beets, mustard leaves, horseradish

Hands down, all of us voted that the braised short rib was probably the best dish of the meal. I suppose it could do with more greens and something astringent, but overall, yes, at last, something that says 'this is what I came here for'. Kind of feeling.

Roasted cabbage, mustard seeds

At the staff's recommendation, we tried the side dish of roasted cabbage with mustard seeds. Hmmm. Meh. I'm not sure I like my cabbage burnt on the edges and mostly raw throughout. Plus I could do this myself at home, so why pay exorbitantly for it?

Chocolate, berry coulis

Hubby's dessert was something chocolatey with berry coulis. Can't remember the dish name and the menu changes daily. Oops.

Poached peach, ginger sorbet, ricotta cheese foam

My dessert was poached peach with ginger sorbet, and ricotta cheese foam. Delicious. Like a modern, deconstructed version of peach melba - and the ricotta cheese foam was a nice touch. I could eat another. If I'd known, I would've skipped all the others and just ordered 4 rounds of this.

After the letdowns in the savoury dishes, I think Fifteen made up for it with the sweets.



An English Summer with Danbo:
● I. London
- Food Diaries #1: Dinner by Heston
- Food Diaries #2: Jamie Oliver's Fifteen
- Food Diaries #3: Zucca, London
- Food Diaries #4: Pearl Liang, London
● II. Windsor
● III. Oxford
- Food Diaries #5: Browns Brasserie & Bar
- Food Diaries #6: Quod Restaurant & Bar
- Food Diaries #7: Al Andalus
● IV. Cambridge
- Food Diaries #8: Midsummer House