Even a basic side became a source of wonderment
Rob Star, founder of Electric Star Pubs, has recently launched Firestarter, a new restaurant in The City with a menu designed by Ricky Evans and led onsite by Head Chef Leon Seraphim, formerly of Brigade in Bermondsey. Having enjoyed a sumptuous meal at that fantastic SE1 establishment I knew I had to saunter over London Bridge to check out the new place, writes Michael Holland.
Firestarter has a live-fire kitchen where you can see all the flame-grilling being done, from hefty steaks right down to the humble Gordal Olive. It is a restaurant where just about everything is cooked over fiery flame, where the lemon oil is charred, the butter smoked, and the pineapple fire roasted. You do not just smell the cooking, you taste the flame!
We started with Wild Tiger Prawns and Gochujang Chilli Crack Honey Fried Chicken Wings. The prawns peeled easily to release plump interiors oozing with flavour. The wings were raised to another level with the many ingredients they were cooked in.
For our mains we chose Zaatar Lamb and the Butterflied Sea Bream. The lamb was a succulent pink and needed very little chewing while it melted away. My bream was unbelievable. The smoked butter, sambal, cabe ijo and pickled shallots turned that common fish into something unique. It was so different I began thinking bream was something that I have never had before. But in Firestarter, even a basic side like beetroot and feta became a source of wonderment when the feta is whipped into a dreamy cream.
Firestarter seems to bring the best of the Americas, Britain and Asia into play, combining different flavours and textures to accompany ordinary meats and fish. It hits us with names we might have trouble pronouncing but no problem with devouring with relish: furikake, sriracha, chimmichuri, umeboshi, gochujang, sambal, yuzu and panko. Some crispy, some sweet or sour, others spicy, and all perfectly delicious when on a plate with a food that we knew well.
Only two desserts on the menu so we had one of each. The Wagyu bone marrow Crème Brûlée was an odd dish served up in bones where the marrow once dwelt. I had to marvel at how someone came up with the idea, while I also marvelled at how well it went with the smoked pear and honey accompaniment.
The fire roasted pineapple could have been a simple dish with there being so much flavour in that humble fruit, but in Firestarter it arrives with date molasses, umeboshi and black sesame, brown butter shortbread, yuzu clotted cream and smoked Maldon. A combination that should only logically be devised by one hundred chimps let loose in a kitchen to throw food about or chefs with one thing on their mind – to create the next great dish. There were too many ingredients on that plate to work out which one made it a superb whole, but by then I didn’t care, I just wanted to float in my personal Paradise it generated.
All I’m worried about now is getting back over there to try the other menu offerings that I didn’t sample last night – starting with the crab doughnuts.
Firestarter is a bit pricey but you do get great food made with the best produce and a fantastic show from the open kitchen.
Two people with drinks: £134
Firestarter, 94 Middlesex Street, E1 7EZ.
Booking and full details: https://firestartergrill.com/
