Texture – Scandinavian touch in London

Posted by mrspjuth on 12 January, 2014 · Leave a Comment 

I have read about the Islandic chef and restaurant owner Agnar Sverrisson who runs Texture, a Michelin starred restaurant in London, and finally I got to go. The food pictures on their web are really enjoyable and the design of the restaurant is scandinavian soft and calm. 

Got a table next to the half open kitchen and evening started. Chose the Tasting menu consisting of 6 courses plus appetizer and cheese and the sommelier’s choice of wines. It started with a basket of flat breads with a yoghurt with citrus and barley and after that sourdough bread with extra virgin olive oil from southern Spain. Both flat bread and sourdough bread were good but the yoghurt was quite flat and uninteresting. The first glass of wine was a riesling from Slovakia, 2008 Château Belá Egon Müller. A bit different from the rieslings I am used of but I liked it. To the riesling Chef Sverrissons signature course – Salmon, cucumber, salmon roe. A really nice appetizer. A good start on this dinner.

The first course, New season English beetroots with goat’s cheese snow and pistachios, showed to be a hit. Love these small beetroots which are really tasty. But they could have been a bit warmer and I can’t really understand the ice cold goat’s cheese snow. The wine served is another riesling, this more my style and a typical riesling with a sweet note. 2010 Schloss Gobelsburg Kamptal, Austria. Very well balanced with the beetroots. On to 2nd course, Anjou Pigeon, and the last enjoyable this evening. Pigeon, chargrilled, with sweet corn, shallot, bacon popcorn. Pigeon is not my favorite and I dislike having a pigeon leg with claws on my plate. The sweet corn was not really sweet and the course are missing some salt and acid. The wine was great, a California Pinot Noir from Napa – Saintsbury 2009. Once more a great wine from the Sommelier.

Icelandic lightly salted cod with shellfish jus, barley and grapefruit is a JOY. Such a good course. Perfect cooked cod with a very interesting jus with barley. A favorite! Maybe the only wine this evening that I really didn’t match that great. Forgot to take notes and name of the wine but a white from Spain made of a local grape I haven’t had before. Not a bad wine but I had rather seen a bone dry Bourgogne matching this course. Continuing with U.S. Grain fed prime beef, Rib eye, ox cheek, horseradish, olive oil béarnaise. The rib eye was awesome – nothing beats well raised animals – and the olive oil béarnaise a great match. To bad the ox cheek was lacking taste and ox cheek that can be so great if well made. Overall a great course that kicked with the Barolo served, 2008  Barolo Cascina Nuova Elvio Cogno DOCG Piedmont, Italy.

Feeling quite happy we tried some cheese. A big portion with toasted raisin bread. The Comte was one of the better ever eaten. Lucky I hade some Barolo left in my glass.

Pre-dessert served in a silver bowl. Granité with sabayonne. Really good. But the following dessert was heaven! Coconut, yoghurt, chocolate. Well balanced and really tasty and every taste matching the next. And the Sommelier made my evening with a dessert wine that I have not had before but will for sure have again, 2009 Maculan Torcolato, Breganze, Italy.

After coffee and tea, served in beautiful pots, we thanked the crew for a nice evening. 

Extra reviews;

The restaurant is quite noisy and could do with something that blocks the sound. We had a hard time hearing some of the presentations from the waiter but that was also due to that he was a bit fast in delivering them.

Some courses could have been lifted with some salt or acid.

The head waiter, I think he was, was really friendly, professional and seamed to love his work and so did the sommelier. She gets an extra star for choosing tasty wines all evening.

I can highly recommend Texture and I will for sure return one day.

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