IT WAS recently pointed out to me that I have
never mentioned any restaurant in north London in these pages. Many north Londoners would agree that there are not so many very good restaurants in the neighbourhood to choose from, which I find surprising considering the afluence of much of the area. There are quite a few passable, and quite a few which are sup- posed to be better than they are, but, at least as far as eating out goes, I have always found it an uninviting area.
But this is now all in the past: I went to Varnom's, a little restaurant in Greenman Street, Islington, the other day and I now see north London in a new light. To say that it's the best restaurant I've been to all year sounds a miserly compliment given that we're only two months into 1986. But I was completely won over by the place. For a start, the owners, John Varnom and Binna Walde, are charming, without the intrusive familiarity too many res- taurateurs and waiters mistakenly adopt.
You come in to a small, grey-painted room, smartly done-up but with a homely touch: on the bar are propped some favourite cookery books and the armchairs' covers are reassuringly worn.
John Varnom, who comes from Roch- dale, is a fresh reminder that you no longer have to hold a French passport to be a `real' chef. Alastair Little and Simon Hop- kinson are just two who have won them- selves well-deserved attention and reputa- tions in this country and John Varnom certainly ranks with them.
There are two menus here, a table d'hôte — three courses for £11.95, four for £12.95 — which changes weekly or the a la carte which changes every three weeks. Varnom's pride themselves particularly on their game, and both menus reflect that. Of the three starters on the set menu two were game: venison terrine and a hot tart of game livers and chicory (the third was an oyster-mushroom soup). But if you are not a big game-eater, John Varnom will gladly provide something from the a la carte list, or something different altogether. Similar- ly, he'll add non-meat dishes for vegeta- rians. He does not actually include them in the menu as, he says, he likes to concoct them in consultation with the person in question.
Generally, Varnom's aims to have six starters on the regular menu, of which two are fish, two vegetarian and two meat. Of these, I found the most interesting the salad of Somerset veal kidneys sautéed with Marc de Bourgogne (the dressing notable for the delicate yet definite tasting walnut oil) and the sage and parsley soup with a red lettuce salad. But this is the sort of menu where you feel everything de- serves a mention: I can't ignore either the grilled Pacific prawns with lime and two sauces, one a spicy sate, the other a gloriously golden curry, or the spinach and aubergine pancake steamed with cider. Of the set-menu starters, the hot tart of mallard and venison livers was unforgett- able: my favourite of them all, in fact. For the main course, if you're choosing from the a la carte I would say, without any doubt, go for the mallard — grilled with a game glaze, raspberry vinegar and green peppercorns. There was one dish I was very keen to try — boned roast rabbit `Capanna Kind which I was allowed to have, at no extra cost, on the table d'hôte rather than the lamb with mustard sauce, wild duck or casserole of Pacific prawns (not unappeal- ing themselves, though, it has to be said on that day. Rabbit is rarely on London menus, and this was done in a particularly interesting way. The meat is taken off the legs and batoned into an escalope like a thin blanket, then the sirloins and fillets are stripped from the saddle and cut inr°, long thin strips, which are then spread lengthways on the blankets. The remaining meat is then liquidised with thyme, sage and egg to bind all the bits on the escaluPe" blanket, which is then rolled up, tied and roasted and served in rounds, looking like thick, pale brawn but tasting so much better.
All main courses come with about half a dozen vegetables and there was not one I wouldn't like to try. There is a modest but good cheese board — Chevre, Pont l'Eveque, Camembert and Chaource — but I'd recommend rather their home-preserved fruits: strawberries in red wine and grand manlier or nectar- ines in brandy and blackcurrant. There is a serious and expanding wine list and prices are reasonable, with much r°, choose from and delight in under and around the £8 mark, but their 1982 IrancY (£12.95) was indeed splendid. With wine' count on paying around £45 for two on the A la carte menu, £10 less if you stick to the table d'hôte. You won't be disappointed.
Nigella Lawson
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