Restaurant review, Kitchen Table, London W1.

Kitchen Table 70 Charlotte Street, London W1T 4QG
Contact: 020 7637 7770 www.bubbledogs.co.uk/amp
Price: Eleven courses: £68

The whole set-up of Kitchen Table is exhilarating. First, you sail through the hot-dog restaurant in front, past a horde of young people, queuing, to your table at the back of the restaurant, separated by a velvet curtain. A square, stainless-steel horseshoe table is set for 19, round the heart of the kitchen, with the cookers along the back wall. The lighting is arty in concept – an atmosphere of 1930s industrialism – but low in wattage. The effect is slightly eerie, as if you've been invited to a mafia meeting, at the end of which one of you will be shot.

To the food – precision, performance, perfection, comingling in proportions that varied somewhat. Forgive me for rattling through a bit; there were 11 courses. The first detail I'm going to lose is what C thought of any of it.

The shrimp course featured the creatures raw, like anaemic slugs. A man with a pipette showered them with dill oil, while someone else doused on iced horseradish. This was the least successful course, simply not tasty enough – the horseradish was a particular disappointment, having had all its character frozen out of it, but the shrimps weren't exactly dancing a tango, either.

Next came pig – the crispy ears thereof – on top of bitter leaves, with a dressing of anchovy, parsley and elderberry capers. It was a beautiful and imaginative dish, seeming to do more than bring flavour, conjuring up an idyll of Englishness, the pubs and hedgerows, the autumn and the colours. On to scallops: their roe dried and smoked, with seaweed and sesame on top, and some teeny turnips. Although I saw how well it worked, how the separate treatment of flesh and roe explored every possibility of character, how delicate the turnip tasted, how the seaweed brought an appealing incongruity, I didn't fall in love as I had with pig.

Plaice was another story. 'I'm sure you know,' said the chef, 'that there are bones running down the middle of the fish.' It is quite fun when the chef is right there, chatting, especially when he's young and a bit flustered, not arrogant and gnarly. But I also had a bit of a mum response, where I kept thinking they were going to burn themselves. It was the finest, firmest bit of plaice I've ever had. A champagne truffle sauce was perfect; ditto a griddled leek, whose inner flesh had been removed with the utmost delicacy, and placed at a jaunty angle to the charred part.

Cauliflower – raw, pan-fried and crispy, with an almond and yogurt dressing – would have been more popular if I didn't somewhat dislike it to start off with. It was ascetic and trendy. I give it that.

Reading my notes about the lamb, I let out an involuntary 'Oh my goodness!' This was stunning – sweetbreads with braised cabbage, and that was lovely enough, but what stood out was an incredibly cunning use of black pepper. Don't ask me how, but they'd brought it to the very centre of the piece, without any unpleasant kick, so that it was like experiencing it for the first time. Roe deer with onions, pear and liquorice was more interesting, but less gorgeous – the liquorice was too strong, but I cannot deny how well it worked with the deer, a radical harmony. So even though it wasn't my favourite, I certainly wouldn't have wished the meal without it.

Skipping burrata (lovely), we arrive at pud: rhubarb with whisked (raw) egg and fromage-frais sorbet was a curious affair, a bit like an unbaked Alaska. Some other time, I'll tell you what's so special about Meyer lemons, what happens when you puff pearl barley and how amazing maize ice cream is.

I don't think it's the most consistent cooking ever, but if there's any part of you that gets excited about food, you will find this thrilling.

CHEFS' TABLES...

Opus 54 Cornwall Street, Birmingham (0121 200 2323)

After a tour of the kitchen, eight lucky people can enjoy a tailor-made five-course meal (£75) while sitting just a whisk's length from the pastry chef. Scallops, prepared at the fish station beyond, come with black pudding and pork belly.

Abstract 20 Ness Bank, Inverness (01463 223777)

From their table on a raised platform at the head of the kitchen, six diners can inspect the finishing touches being made to their eight-course tasting menu (£55). Each dish, from dressed crab to black-cherry soufflé, is introduced by the chef.

Pennyhill Park London Road, Bagshot, Surrey (01276 471774)

Ten courses (from £97.50), including poached pigeon with jasmine jus, are served to guests at a stunning glass banquet table beneath a Swarovski chandelier, while they watch the chefs in action through the glass walls and on a live video screen.

Originally posted at telegraph.co.uk