Andrew Kay travels to Marylebone Lane in London to sample the food at Verru

Read herring

Much as I love Brighton and Hove’s fecund foodie scene I find the need to travel further afield to find out what else is happening in the gastronomic world. So when the opportunity arose to meet up with Mrs Salad and the lovely Mr L I jumped on it. Salad and I would have to travel up to The Smoke but Mr L works there so we left the booking arrangements to him.



Now this can be a dangerous path as Mr L has notoriously expensive tastes, dressing entirely in designer labels and even buying lavatory paper from Prada – I exaggerate of course, well about the loo rolls.

Duly he emailed details of our meeting, 6.30pm at Verru in Marylebone Lane. I took a bus from Victoria to Marble Arch and walked the rest of the way, arriving a little early. Inside Verru is rather nice but not earth-shatteringly designed, which in a world where restaurants interiors can be somewhat OTT came as a relief. I sat down and waited with a glass of sparkling water and a menu. It was then that I realised Mr L had cunningly booked the table in time for us to take advantage of their early evening set price menu at £17.95 for two courses. I guess in the West End that may be par for the courses, did you see what I did there?

Mrs Salad arrived next closely followed by Mr L, and pretty soon he had selected a bottle of great wine at £30, so any sense of being economical was fast shot out the window, especially as I know only too well that one bottle would never be enough. It was however delicious wine, Gruner Veltliner Hochterrassen from Austria, and worth every last penny, which I needed to know as we finished a third bottle.

So on to the food. Mrs S and Mr L both started with prawns and chorizo. It was such a beautifully presented dish but they both assured me that it was more than that, truly delicious and by no means skimpy, a common fault on set menus at bargain prices where chefs have been instructed to trim the dish to improve the margin.

Not here, clearly they are aware that if they impress with a set price, a customer is likely to return and try the a la carte.

I spotted herring on the menu and I love them so that was an obvious choice for me, and I was not to be disappointed. The fish was superb, plump soused chunks in a unctuous dressing. The
accompanying potato salad was the very best I have ever had, I really mean that, and the purée of beetroot was almost equal in stature. One course in and I was already impressed. Equally impressive was the slick but friendly service.

Main courses continued to impress. Mrs S chose the sea bass and loved it, once again it was generous and beautifully presented. Mr L and I both went for the Goosnargh duck breast. Knowing this is about as good as duck breast gets it was an obvious choice and one that silenced us for a few moments. Perfect slices of pink duck, packed with flavour but tender to the teeth on a bed of tiny, and I mean tiny, florets of cauliflower, broccoli and nibs of fresh sweetcorn. It has a hint of Asia but nothing so vulgar that one would be tempted to utter the abhorrent ‘fusion’ word. I wanted it to go on forever but sadly it did not. Between us we ordered a bowl of chips, a great idea as they were exceptionally good, and a dish of spinach with nutmeg which was superb.

By this point we had finished the second bottle after our 20-year catch up and any idea of restraint was out of the question. Mr L launched into a rhubarb crumble, deconstructed, with a rhubarb panacotta which he loved. Mrs S and I shared a platter of excellent cheese over which she presented us with half a dozen eggs from her hens, what a treat. And yes we did have another bottle of wine, and yes, what should have been and in fact was a very reasonable bill for such great cooking, was hoiked up by £90. That said, we certainly left satisfied on every level, great food and wine and excellent company. I highly recommend Verru and advise caution with the wine.

Verru, 69 Marylebone Lane, London, Greater London W1U 2PH
020 7935 0858 www.verru.co.uk

Follow me: latestandrew