New venture from ex-head of L'Autre Pied serving rustic French food

Noizé has been headed up Mathieu Germond, formerly the general manager or Michelin starred L’Autre Pied. The restaurant takes its name from the very village that Germond grew up in when his Grandparents owned a farm in the same parts. The menu here was enjoyable and I will revisit as it would seem to be a contender for entering the starred family from my early lens. The site is where the once unbelievably popular Dabbous was housed and is situated in the middle of Fitzrovia. No set lunch menu, so I would recommend getting more for your buck and going at dinner and also enjoy their decent bar downstairs.

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The meal began with cheese gougeres which are a personal favourite of mine and I know how hard it is to make properly! These were pleasant but I couldn’t help think they could have been pulled out of the oven sooner based on the hard outer layer, but still, a decent soft cheese interior. Beef tartare came with smoked eel & horseradish and done to very good effect; the horseradish giving it the kick it always needs in an original way. Cauliflower salad, green grape and curry had the win on the starters though and was a beautiful combination with nicely judged spice from the curry and thinly sliced, crisp cauliflower on top for texture – a very good dish.

The mains were monkfish and veal. Monkfish came with peas, Jersey Royals, sherry vinegar and walnut sauce which worked very well together and the sherry vinegar being an especially nice touch. The rump of veal was soft and tender and again had a very good combination with the celeriac (puree) and wild mushrooms along with expertly done pomme souffle that were a delight to go with.

Time was unfortunately not on our side so we had to forgo desserts, but based on these brief courses alone, it was clear to see that this was very good cooking and as a snapshot, well worth revisiting. I will revisit to make a more rounded view.

Food Grade: 77%