Cycene (Shoreditch)

The meal started at the bar downstairs where the amuse bouche was offered: Gambret (thigh) from Aquitaine pigs was served as Charcuterie (from SW France), fed on acorns, similar to Belota pigs from East Spain (Iberia).  Mixed vegetable and herb bouquet was offered to be brushed in an asparagus vinaigrette with koji which had a very gentle and aromatic aroma and taste. The butters were wonderful – burnt leak, cultured and chicken butter served with spelt rye sour dough.  Serious effort had gone in to these small, introductions which is always a very good sign and sets the tone frankly for the whole establishment.

Moving upstairs, to the kitchen, I was introduced to the head chef, Theo Clench who introduced me to the first bite of aged blue fin tuna Otoro (deliberately 9 days of ageing as opposed the longer times of 40 days) from Spain on heated Himalayan salt with a ponzu sauce.  The fresh wasabi was from Japan, giving a lovely and more gentle spice, with umami from the aged foie gras from Londe and melted for extra fat with shiso flower and a cherry blossom vinegar juice to finish. All very delicate and a very nice presentation to be given in the kitchen.

Once sat in the illustrious, private dining area I was able to look at the wine list which is strongly influenced from the biodynamic and organic echolocation of wine making.  What was also very pleasant to see was 171st edition cuvee of Krug (based on the 2016 vintage) served by the glass at £49 which was a no brainer.  Not many places will serve Krug or Dom Perignon by the glass because of the risk of losing the remaining content obviously, but it is lovely to see when this is done and especially when I believe exactly the same stratosphere of Krug is served by the glass for £90 in Raffles, London for example.  The premium Rosi Schuster, Grüner Veltliner from Burgenland, Austria at £25 for the glass was a fairly pleasing option, but in retrospect, I should have bought a bottle of more normal champagne and offer what I wouldn’t be able to  finish / other half of that to the staff.  My sommelier kindly arranged a number of tastings however, to try and gain the best match without any frustration, which is another sign of a quality restaurant. 

Back on to the parade of canapés: a 36 month Comte and pickled walnut canapé was lovely, with just the right hint of vinegar to balance the fatty and slightly chewy, warm Comte. Raw hamachi (yellowtail tuna) came with sweet and sour pear and sesame which had an umami, fatty and lovely sesame finish.  Duck liver and red pepper was an absolute knock out moment with superb, brittle crispy outer shell and deep flavour – beautifully done. 

BBQ eel from Devon came with a warm cucumber sauce, herb oil and N25 caviar – this was a variation from oyster and had a wonderful amount of umami, salty creaminess and sweet from the buerre blanc with very well sourced caviar (one of the best suppliers).  Beremeal, sourdough was a take on soba noodles made with a rare wheat only grown on the Orkney Islands for thousands of years. The broth from all sour dough, chive, hazelnut and roe was not my favourite initially in its graininess, but enjoyable as something different nonetheless less.

Confit scallop (from the Isle of Skye) came with tomato, Myoga (type of Japanese ginger),  confit in wagyu, fermented tomatoes, shellfish sauce, roe of scallop powder on top.  A lovely, foam sauce decorated this scallop. Turbot from an 8Kg Brixham fish came with lettuce, sake lettuce sauce, fish bone and caramel sauce.  This was one of the prettiest and clean-cut dishes I have seen for turbot and the sauces went superbly together without drowning the magnificent piece of turbot that it was, all able to be mopped up with a beautifully light, mini white loaf on the side.

Hereford beef was 70 day aged and served with a sea buckthorn, preserved winter truffle (from Australia), BBQ Maitake mushroom was frankly a masterclass of umami beef dish in every way.  There was nothing to not love here and the surrounding elements complimented the beef superbly.

A pre-dessert of apple, olive oil and shiso pre-dessert was an extremely good palette cleanser – fresh, vibrant and the way it should be done.  The actual dessert was a 70% Chocolate tart with raspberry sorbet in the form of an aerated and mousse like chocolate on pastry with an intense and smooth raspberry sorbet.  I thought these worked very well together.  Petit fours were likewise very well presented with a lovely canelé with brown butter mousse (superb), a fermented raspberry fudge sandwich (fine) and an agreeable 30% Dark chocolate Bon Bon.  All came with Difference coffee, again, one of the best suppliers in their field.

The bill with premium drinks by the glass came to £315 which can be toned down from the wine selection. Be prepared to pay upfront to gain your seat here and you will have a very good return on skill, ingredient sourcing and flavours.  The price tag perhaps prohibits going for date night here each week for most (including me!), as each outing would probably be £600 for the host of two, but I think is worth it for pushing the boat out if you desire well-executed dishes of quality that in the main create some serious moments.

Food Grade: 87%