Texture

It could have been because I wasn't wearing my Louboutins, but from the moment I arrived at Texture until I left I felt almost invisible. There was no greeting on arrival and we were left standing at the bar wondering should we wait until shown to a table or take a seat for a pre drinks. We initiated the conversation with the bar man who said we could take a seat where we wanted in the bar. No drink menu on table, we had to get one from the bar. The appearance of pop corn and greasy homemade crisps I thought strange for a michelin star restaurant. We had an 8.30 booking but were shown to our table almost one hour later, hidden in a corner where we could see all but be seen by none. The service was very robotic and awkward. Twice we were left with empty glasses and even told that we had no wine left only for the Sommelier to suddenly arrive with our still half bottle of wine. It was a £35 bottle of Spanish badia but tasted like cheap plonk. My partner had advised them in advance it was my birthday hoping they would make a special effort, they stuck a candle in my desert! Most strange of all the chef spent huge amounts of time with every other table in the room but totally ignored us. What these restaurants need to remember is that one mans money is as good as the next and when they are charging exorbitant prices they need to provide a service that matches the food which incidentally was good but not the best I have eaten.

When you think of things that have come out of Iceland (Vikings, toxic debt, volcanic ash, Björk) none of them are particularly pleasant. If you were to extend this theme to food, it would be a similar result: the national dish involves putrid shark and they have a penchant for puffin and whale. So why on earth would you want to go to a restaurant that’s USP is that the chef is Icelandic?

The answer is that it is really rather good. Actually, scratch that: it is really very good. Very, very good.

Texture is pretty much a local for me, yet this was only my second visit since it opened three or four years back. Having been inspired by a trip to the champagne bar here a few weeks back, however, we took the plunge late on a Saturday night, post open air theatre. For the life of me, I cannot work out why it has taken me so long to return to dine.

The dining room, reached via the relaxing champagne bar, is a high ceilinged affair, with wine displayed in racks along two sides, one dividing the dining area from the bar, the other half-masking the area where the meals are assembled. It doesn’t have the hush of many a Michelin anointed establishment, being very laid back; an approach matched by the (uniformly fantastic) staff, who were relaxed and friendly, helpfully suggesting certain dishes (which we ignored) and interesting wine (which we went along with).

Food should always be the main point of a restaurant, but everything around the food (the service, the atmosphere, the wine) can elevate good food to great, just as easily as great food to rubbish (thank you Gidleigh Park). I cannot think of a better restaurant that I have been to in London for a long time. It is up there with Hibiscus, the Ledbury, the Square and even everyone’s 2011 darling: Diner by Heston B.

The amuse bouche was a pea and mint affair, with the first of the evening’s “snows”. We’ve had smears, foams and other affectations posing as The Next Big Thing, but (other than at Noma), I don’t think I’ve had snow before. This one was green and minty, and came with a green and peay mousse; a delightful mixture of textures, tastes and temperatures.

For starters we had the crab and the asparagus. The crab came in coconut sauce and a gazpacho in two parts; the traditional chilled soup and a pink snow. Lovely; light, great tastes, complimentary textures. The asparagus was excellent too, this time the snow being parmesan. Perhaps the only time you should ever eat yellow snow. Having said that, parmesan snow was the only thing all evening that didn’t really work. Sorry. Nobody is perfect, but parmesan done as a crisp (as it was here too) is the best way for the hard, salty formaggio, and freezing it just didn’t do it for me.

Mains continued the extremely high standard. Suckling pig came in three sections, with meltingly tender meat, crispy skin and being accompanied by the most perfect pork scratching ever. And I know my pork scratchings. The lamb, all the way from the Pyrenees, was accompanied by wild Icelandic herbs. I couldn’t place any of them, but they worked as well as the far more traditional mint sauce.

We ducked the deserts and instead settled on the coffee and petit fours. Again, all excellent, even the one advertised as “fisherman’s friend”, which was a meringue on a stick that indeed tasted of the traditional menthol eucalyptus lozenge.

The wine list is, as you’d expect when compiled by somebody who was UK sommelier of the year at the tender age of 22, terrific; not only in terms of geographic spread, but also price range and in the availability of wines by the glass. 22? I mean come on: when I was that age I had just about worked out that d’Yquem was a rather expensive desert wine, not the noise a Frenchman makes when he sneezes. Sometime life just isn’t fair.

Our excellent sommelier (who was given the rather hard task of pairing a white wine with crab, asparagus, pig and lamb) came up with an excellent Languedoc-Roussillion that was delicate enough not to overpower the crab, but bold enough not to be swamped by the lamb.

All this comes at a price of course, of course, and that price is high. Not Alain Ducasse high, but still not the sort of place you come to if you’re brassic.

So go please, I beg you. Just not so many of you that I can’t get a table when I next want one.

I did not know what to expect from Icelandic cuisine. I certainly didn't imagine that a tasting menu created without butter or cream would feature amongst one of the finest meals I have ever enjoyed in London. It was nothing short of sublime. This was death row, last meal material.

From the moment the selection of crispbreads arrived, we knew that we were in for a treat – the five course tasting menu covered Pea, Lobster, Quail, Cod and Beef with a thoroughly delicious desert of Rhubarb and Muesli. Consistently excellent, extremely technical and difficult to choose between them. Despite the formality of the environment, the service was very friendly and relaxed, with Sverrisson regularly appearing from the kitchen to check on things front of house.

This is only the second restaurant that produced a 10/10 experience and I would thoroughly recommend it to any readers looking for a fine dining experience beyond the classic French formula.

We arrive at Texture and are shown to our table, a cosy little nook which overlooks the rather interesting ‘open’ plating area. Chunky rustic bread, a wafer-thin assortment of deep fried miscellany and an amuse bouche of creamy pea mousse are just some of the treats we begin our meal with. Chef Agnar Sverrisson has arranged for a tasting of the some of the best dishes on the menu and so the coming courses are very much an exciting mystery as yet. The first course of beetroot, goat’s cheese with rocket and balsamic vinegar and chervil ice cream is a palate of vibrant colour. The dish is wonderfully simple with clean flavours and the added interesting element of chervil ice cream, which works perfectly with against the sweetness of the beetroot.

Our fish course is a classic salute to Scandinavian cuisine, with organic salmon ‘Graflax’ (the Icelandic spelling for ‘Gravadlax’) cured with a delicate coating of herbs and pepper with an accompanying horseradish sauce and tiny little pieces of broken rye bread, which is entirely scrumptious. This is the kind of dish I could eat forever with batting an eyelid. Next up, comes a signature dish of char-grilled English Quail, with sweetcorn, shallot, bacon popcorn and red wine essence. One does often wonder how a Chef decides to put certain ingredients together, but no one component is less appealing because of another. The quail is tender and sweet and the kernels of sweetcorn burst in my mouth releasing their juice, complimenting the salty bacon. A tad confused about what I should be doing with the popcorn, I simply pop them in my mouth once I have finished everything else.

Our next course is char-grilled grain-fed beef rib eye with Ox cheek, served with horseradish and an olive oil Béarnaise. “Olive oil Béarnaise, you say?” – Yes, because interestingly, Texture do not use cream or butter in their cooking and as written on the menu it is actually a ‘B”arnaise’ sauce, rather than your garden-variety Béarnaise. The beef is meltingly tender and the dish itself is incredibly simple showcasing the meat beautifully. The Ox cheek is perfectly cooked and seasoned and seems to be a perfect pairing for the horseradish sauce. The rich and mousse-like ‘B”arnaise’ works well with the beef, but in my humble opinion is no substitute for a classic Béarnaise sauce.

Dessert arrives as another Texture signature dish of Icelandic Skyr with rhubarb, muesli and granite. Skyr is to Iceland what Mascarpone is to Italy and although technically a cheese, the flavour is more like a very thick and creamy Greek yoghurt, but incredibly low fat. I really like this dish as I adore rhubarb and the Skyr’s creamy, yet sharp flavour, works incredibly well with it, finished beautifully with a much needed crunch of Muesli to add texture, which is really what the whole menu is about.

The menu is largely straightforward and unpretentious and each dish takes a handful of great ingredients and fuses them together to make something uncomplicated, unfussy but utterly delicious. These are just the kind of things that illustrate exactly why Texture were one of just six restaurants to be awarded a Michelin star this year and deservedly so.

Our January 2010 meal at Texture was our third since it opened. We came away with the same positive impression as previously.

The restaurant space has been carved out of the ground floor corner of a less impressive hotel. It has a very Nordic style cool sophisticated white décor, nicely retaining some of the original architectural features of the room. This décor is perhaps more suited to a warm summer day than a cold winter night, but it ideally matches the mid-week evening dining / bar crowd – smar0t and well dressed, with a business expense account bias.

Texture operates with quite a short but perfectly satisfactory menu of what I assume are traditional Icelandic meats and fish. Both the scallop starter and the venison main course were extremely good – Very high quality ingredients, cooked and presented in a very refined and sophisticated manner. Some of the best tasting venison we’ve eaten. They have avoided unnecessary over clever or over powering accompanying sauces, so you could really taste the great flavour of the underlying food.

The presentation style is refined and sophisticated, and could perhaps be described as a bit “nouveau”. My only negative comment would be that I would have preferred 2-3 decent size scallops in my starter, given a price of £20. By contrast, our portions of venison were very good – not just 3 thin slices which I've had elsewhere.

The wine list is very good, but since there wasn’t a lot below £50 you’ll probably end up spending £60-£80.

Front of house and waiter service were both charming, efficient and very professional. Nothing to fault.

Overall, a very good restaurant, serving very high quality refined dishes, with sophisticated presentation. But, this is what I expect at c£100 for 2 courses for 2, inc service, ex drinks.

I hosted a business event in the private dining room and was very impressed. Xavier Rousset bent over backwards to help us and hosted a tasting to ensure the food matched perfectly with the wines we were serving. The private dining room is a little cramped and dark compared to the rest of the restaurant but the food and service was perfect. We started with dish of soft, yielding salmon which contrasted perfectly with a cool, crunchy cucumber granita and paired beautifully with a rose Champagne. The main of belly pork, cooked to perfection for over 12 hours, was served with a sharp sauce and both dishes were presented like a work of art. I have to say that I'm glad I wasn't paying but if you have some cash to splash, a meal at Texture would be a memorable way to spend it.

Having Texture just a 5 minute walk from home is really a luxury. In spite of this, I’ve only managed to visit twice, but have been very pleased both times. The décor, the spacious feel and the general vibe really appealed to me from the start of my visits. A nice drink by the bar is a great way to start your dining experience, and I would recommend arriving a bit early to do just that.

I have no complaints about the service and the sommelier was very obliging and informative without being intrusive, which really applied to all staff. The food is unsurprisingly focused on the sea, but I still went for a Wagyu beef main (again, not surprisingly) and the goat’s cheese and beetroot starter. Both were absolutely delicious and beautifully presented.

The only negative point with Texture is that the prices are rather steep compared many other restaurants at similar levels (GBP 15-20 for starters and 30-35 for mains). But if that isn’t a problem, or if you have something to celebrate, then I would recommend this without a doubt.

Ps. The pictures on this site need some updating, the place looks better than that!

A singular experience: I hosted a group of 8 foodies at Texture just before Christmas. The food was good, and the service genuinely friendly and helpful. Several Icelandic specialities were a novel experience – for example although barley risotto doesn't sound too exciting, it combined a pleasing taste with an interesting texture. Although we ordered with restraint and restricted ourselves to the less expensive wines, the bill came to just over £700, or about £90 per person. In my opinion this would have justified rating Texture as average value, if it hadn't been for one major criticism. Several of us ordered the “Scottish scallops with cauliflower textures”. At £18.50 this was an expensive starter, and what prompted me to give the lowest ("awful") mark in Square Meal's “value for money” category is that although scallops (plural) were advertised in the menu, only one scallop (singular) per person was served. Even though tasting delicious, the high price of this morsel left an unpleasant taste in the mouth.

Texture ought to be much better known and loved. They are producing a Michelin-starred experience in beautiful surroundings, but sadly seem to be little known.

Their set lunch is ridiculously good value and expands from its stated three courses to more like five with amuse bouches, fantastic breads and various other nibbles. Every guest I take here is blown away by the experience. The staff add to the overall feeling of involvement, explaining everything in detail and showing a real passion for the food.

Dinner is also a sumptuous affair but more pricey.

The decor is gorgeous but quite plain. If entertaining guests, starting in the plush Champagne Bar and then retiring to the restaurant is a good way to establish an impression.

I thoroughly recommend this place and hope more people get to know it. Note – It’s a great pick for veggies with a large vegetarian tasting menu which they are happy to swap dishes on and off.

From the moment I sat down with a glass of bubbly and nibbled some bacon popcorn in the bar area of Texture I knew I was really going to enjoy it. With the duo of Agnar Sverrisson and Xavier Rousset at the helm I knew I was in safe hands. From the starter of pea mousse via the asparagus with parmesan ‘snow’ to the anjou of pigeon with corn puree – taste and presentation were excellent as was the three way Lancashire pig. Wines chosen by Xavier went perfectly and was surprised even more so at how inexpensive some of the choices were given the quality and taste. Service was excellent along with an explanation of the dishes and how they were put together made the experience a very pleasant one. I was pleased to find out also that they now have private dining room – something that was lacking on my visit, perhaps I'll return for a pre-Christmas party will a few friends.