Since realising that I have a slight obsession with food and all things food related, I have started a list of things I must try and places I must eat. St John is one of those places and has been very high on the list ever since I discovered Fergus Henderson and his philosophy of nose to tail eating. His use of offal and other neglected cuts of meat is absolutely fascinating and a delight to discover.
St John is located in the premises of a former bacon smoke-house so is full of character and immediately fills you with a lust for meat. On receipt of the menu we were all immediately salivating and could not wait for the eating to begin! We started with a bottle of their own St John Rouge, a delicious blend of Cabernet and Syrah, made our menu selections and hoed into the freshly, house baked bread.
Then our starters arrived - boy oh boy! Matt chose the duck hearts which came on a bed of swede mash and a meaty jus. They were cooked to perfection and each bite was a heavenly combination of earthy richness combined with the sweetness of the swede. Brim went for the venison saddle with beetroot and watercress. Again the meat was perfect and the balsamic on the beetroot pulled the whole thing together. Both were delicious however I must admit that my choice was the standout!
Roast bone marrow and parsley salad - what I would do for a plate of that right now. Four pillars of roasted bone marrow with char grilled, freshly baked sourdough, a parsley, onion and caper salad perfectly dressed and a pile of wet sea salt. It even came with its own little tool for marrow removal to then spread on the toast. Delightful!
Feeling completely satisfied after the consumption of our starters, it was Mains time. Matt went for one of the day's specials which was a whole roasted partridge with bread sauce, jus and a whole roasted red onion. The meat was deliciously gamey and succulent whilst being rather difficult for Matt to dissect. Brim had lamb kidneys, which came with sautéed chard and were swimming in a juicy reduction. He was happy with his decision however I have confirmed that kidneys are definitely not my thing.
I decided to try the calf's liver and braised witlof, again with a delightful reduction. I was worried that I'd made a mistake with my choice, being overwhelmed with the liver to veg ratio, but was quite sad when it was all gone. Cooked to perfection and so soft and sweet! We shared sides of sprout tops and welsh rarebit (glorified cheese on toast) .
Last but not least was dessert - this was after our waiter had asked if "we are in the industry", which made us giggle. Matt picked a chocolate mousse with creme fraiche, which he absolutely loved. Certainly not a sweet dessert and very rich. Brim chose lemon sorbet with vodka, which was extremely refreshing and clean. I decided to go one of the signature dishes, an Eccles cake with Lancashire cheese, which was incredibly tasty and the cheese was so good with it.
We left very full and sad that the meal was over. St John certainly lived up to all expectations and we would have no hesitation in returning again and again.
A special shout out of thanks to my wonderful brother for his very thoughtful birthday gift of a voucher for Brim and I.
And a dishonourable mention to Matt for his shakey photos!
