The Café, Nicole's and Joe's Restaurant
IT WAS The Spectator's publisher, Kimber- ly Fortier, who shrewdly suggested that I should investigate the haunts of ladies who lunch, and there seemed to be no question that she should be my first guinea-pig. Kim- berly's point was that whereas men went for food and cooking, pure and simple, women were more concerned with atmosphere, decor and presentation of food, which, in any case, they preferred to be lighter. This left me faintly worried as to whether I would get enough to eat or be left semi- starving until dinner-time, but I asked her to name her venue.
Kimberly chose Sotheby's Café in New Bond Street, and thither I repaired after a busy morning to meet her, and first of all to take a nourishing aperitif. The first shock was that the Café was really just a short corridor carved out of Sotheby's lobby, and thus rather poky and cramped. The next was that I could have neither the Campari nor Ricard of my choice, as the waitress said there was no spirits licence, which seemed odd as such digestifs as cognac and armagnac were on the wine list. I settled for a rather meagre white-wine spritzer, and when Kimberly arrived she had to send her hr back because it was tepid and with too much cassis. Its replacement was bet- ter.
Kimberly chose to start with leek and parsley soup, and I with a pressed terrine of red mullet, potato, anchovy and rosemary. Both were excellent: the soup was unthick- ened and offered a commendably intense taste of leek; the terrine had a good texture and distinct flavours of its ingredients. I was relieved to find that helpings were man-sized. Next, Kimberly tried the Café's vegetarian dish of baked fennel with goat's cheese and toasted pine-nuts, with grilled mushrooms and grilled pepper relish, which she found 'excellent', and I went for salmon and tarragon fish cakes with tartare sauce and a salad of Little Gem lettuce, radishes and peas. The fish cakes were fine, light in texture and with a good flavour, but frankly I would have preferred some fresh, hot vegetables to the rather namby-pamby salad.
For dessert we shared a delicious rhubarb and cardamom trifle, served in a large, well-filled glass goblet, and then good espresso coffee. We drank a decent 1995 chablis, reasonably priced at £18 on the short but well-selected list. The Café was busy, patronised as much by men as by women, and quite a few of the customers looked like regulars. Service was efficient and the bill of £61.40, with service includ- ed, seemed reasonable. My overall verdict on Sotheby's was sound, if not especially exciting.
Nicole's, the basement restaurant of Nicole Farhi's attractive shop in New Bond Street, is a more exciting space than Sothe- by's: a well-lit, long room, predominantly white, with slightly crude wooden chairs, the clientele smart, distinctly `ladies who lunch', providing a good atmospheric 'buzz'. The Swedish-born, London-resident novelist Marika Cobbold joined me at Nicole's and immediately fell for the ambi- ence, and we were delighted to discover that the menu was worthy of it. Marika started with some good deep-fried vegeta- bles with tarragon mayonnaise, which was enjoyable, if overpriced at £6.50, and I had some splendid smoked haddock chowder, brimming with lovely fresh fish, the creamy soup tasty and nourishing. Marika followed with pan-fried sea bream with roast salsify and herb dressing. The fish was fine, the salsify delicate and combining well, and I had some excellent scallops, grilled on a wooden skewer and served with crispy ser- rano ham and gremolata. But again, at £13.95 and £14.95, both dishes seemed greedily priced. To finish we shared a won- derfully light rum baba, served with pineap- ple and lemon grass — a refreshing end to the meal. We drank a pleasant Pinot Gri- gio, not overpriced at £13.30, and ended with espresso and cappuccino. Including service, the bill came to over £77, which may not seem much to ladies who shop in Bond Street, but which I found extortion- ate, even for such attractive premises and cooking as good as Annie Wayte's.
My third stop was in Sloane Street at Joe's Restaurant, beneath Joseph's exquisite dress shop. Artist's muse Amanda Moneypenny accompanied me on a glori- ously sunny day, which made us eager to enjoy our lunch. Another long, bright base- ment room, with a bar running down one side and plenty of chic ladies, not a few seeming to come either from abroad or the outer suburbs. Amanda started with a good Mr royale, and I took a Pimm's, whose fruit salad may have been inauthentic but tasted heavenly. For starters we shared a fresh crab salad with chilli and herb dressing, the crab splendidly fresh and white meat only, the salad equally fresh and immaculately dressed. Prices again were high — the starter cost £9.95, but was certainly suffi- cient for two. From the short menu, Aman- da next chose tomato couscous with char- grilled vegetables — the cous cous good, but lacking a spicy sauce, with a tremen- dous selection of impeccably grilled vegeta- bles: baby sweetcom, celery, courgettes, aubergines, red pepper and asparagus. My choice was grilled breast of chicken with spiced Puy lentils and a light tarragon sauce, which was equally satisfactory.
Amanda ended with panna cotta with orange and passion fruit, which made her happy; and I stuck to a double espresso. We were well pleased with the young Ghanaian chef Jackie Nyarko's skilful cooking, and, with a decent glass of Provençal rosé, mineral water and service, the bill of £60.60 seemed not unreasonable. It does appear that lunching in the West End and Knightsbridge nowadays is a far cry from the bad old days of stuffy depart- ment-store restaurants and tea-rooms.
The Cafe. Sotheby's, 34-35 New Bond Street, London Wl; tel: 0171 408 5077.
Nicole's. Nicole Far/u, 158 New Bond Street, London Wl; tel: 0171 499 8408.
Joe's Restaurant. Joseph, 16 Sloane Street, London SW1; tel: 0171 235 9869.
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