Last week, I was lucky enough to be invited to the launch of Foxcroft and Ginger’s new dinner menu. As a regular visitor to Foxcroft for their exceptional coffee and top notch sour dough, I was keen to see how their skills translate to dinner.
Owned by a dynamic husband and wife duo, ‘flair without fuss’ sums up the food on offer here. Located in Soho’s busy Berwick Street, Foxcroft and Ginger has a semi industrial feel with its stripped back interior, exposed pipes and bare bricked walls. Despite this it isn’t a place that feels cold and sterile. The service is attentive and friendly and its cold edges are warmed by eclectic vintage touches and mismatched antique crockery. It’s not everyday you see a vintage gymnast’s pommel horse which doubles as a cafe bar!
All of the food is made fresh daily from locally sourced ingredients. The dinner menu is designed for sharing, consisting of a selection of small plates. I hear that the menu constantly changes with the seasons, to keep punters constantly guessing.
The first dish was a beetroot tatin accompanied by slow roasted tomato and olive oil soup and truffle popcorn with parmesan. These dishes complemented each other perfectly, with the saltiness of the popcorn offsetting the rather earthy flavours of the beetroot and the tomato. As a massive beetroot fan, I personally loved the tatin. The juices soaked the sour dough at the bottom of the dish beautifully, I literally scraped the bottom of the dish for the very last bite.
The next dishes, creatively served in two small jam jars are perfect for scooping on to slightly toasted sourdough. Foxcroft and Ginger is famous for its sourdough which is made in the kitchen downstairs using premium flour direct from the mill. Even the simplest of ingredients – salt – is harvested by hand from the shores of Brittany which is an organic, pure Celtic variety. I wasn’t personally a fan of the warm potted prawns with fennel slaw but loved the foie gras with venison terrine and onion jam.
The braised rabbit with papardelle was a beautifully simple dish and reminded me of something that would be served at a local trattoria in Tuscany. The papardelle was cooked to perfection as was the tender rabbit.
The beef onglet was one of my favourite dishes of the night. Rich in flavour, it was served with herbed butter and smoked onion puree. Resembling a hummus type of consistency, the puree for me was a definite winner. WIll be definitely trying this one at home.
If you like your steak well done you may be disappointed with this dish. Onglet is a loose grain that is often tender but only if it’s served quite rare.
The last small plate of the evening was the pork croquette which was served with a pea puree and relish. With an almost nugget like crispness on the outer, when bitten it literally explodes with flavour and melts in your mouth.
And for dessert, need I say more? Luckily, I managed to take a quick photo before I devoured this. The chocolate fondant was my favourite dish which was served warm with creme fraiche. The sticky toffee pudding with caramel was equally sinful and delicious.
I couldn’t help ordering a sneaky coffee at the end of the meal. The coffee, roasted by Has Bean is strong with a great depth of flavour. Still not my #1 coffee in Soho but up there with the best!
If you are looking for great food with an original twist at affordable prices this is definitely the place to come in Soho. I will be coming back soon, I am long overdue for a blueberry and custard muffin but that story will have to wait for another time….
3 Berwick Street, Soho W1F 0DR
Opening hours: Monday: 8am – 7pm, Tuesday – Friday 8am – 10pm, Saturday 9am – 10pm, Sunday 9am – 7pm.
http://foxcroftandginger.co.uk/
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