Match of the week

Grilled ox tongue with radishes and Mr Thirsty vin de soif

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on August 16 2016 at 09:36

As soon as I heard Will Lander of The Quality Chop House and Portland had opened a new restaurant, Clipstone, I couldn’t wait to check it out - and I wasn’t disappointed.

Mind you it should be good. Will is the son of restaurant critic Nick Lander and wine writer Jancis Robinson and with a pedigree like that if he can’t get the food and drink right, who can?

Mr Thirsty Vin de Soif

Two of the dishes I had were top notch including this plate of grilled ox tongue with radishes and crème fraiche which was fantastic with one of the wines we had on tap, the appropriately named Mr Thirsty vin de soif which they were selling for a very reasonable £5 a glass.

It comes from Fabien Jouves of Mas del Périé in Cahors, a man who obviously likes to stir things up. (He also has a wine called You Fuck my Wine!) This one is a blend of malbec and merlot with a little tannat and cabernet franc. It’s made without sulphur and unfined and unfiltered - so it is a proper card-carrying natural wine but deliciously vibrant and juicy.

I also tried the fresh, citrussy Bernardo Farina Verdejo 2015 from Castilla y Leon which sells for an even more reasonable £3.50 and went brilliantly with a ‘crudo’ of char, peach and ‘cultured cream which, judging from Instagram, looks like becoming Clipstone’s signature dish, this summer at least. (Char is a fish for those of you who haven't come across it before).

I wasn’t quite so keen on the scallop flatbread with walnut pesto and lemon zest - the base was a bit dense and the scallop got lost among such punchy flavourings - but early days. Two runaway winners out of three isn’t half bad and it’s a really cool little place. Go!

Clipstone is at 5, Clipstone Street London W1W 6BB. 0207 637 0871. The wines come from O W Loeb.

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