Anglo restaurant review ★★★★★

Tucked away on a small street in the no-man’s land between the city and Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Anglo does not boast the buzziest location.

But this new Farringdon restaurant is an exciting concept: traditional British cuisine freshened up with flair and technical cooking from chefs Mark Jarvis (of Richmond’s Bingham and before that Zuma and Le Manoir) and Jack Cashmore (previously of Belgium’s In De Wulf).

We love that the menu changes weekly, keeping local seasonal produce at its core. At lunch there’s a selection of a la carte options, from light leek tartlets to aged Hereford beef with wild garlic. But the main draw is the evening tasting menu for £45 a head. With an additional £25 each for wine pairings from a list compiled by Berry Bros.

It’s the simplest dishes that stand out. The bread and butter don’t even get a mention on the seven-course selection, but the creamy yeast butter is moreish and memorable.

Potato Salad exceeds all expectation of mayonnaise-laden picnic filler food. Chalky purple spuds, crumble into sharp, herby sauce spliced with grelot onions. Melt-in-the-mouth Crevettes are served in ash cream, with the rich undertones of the crushed shells toasted in cognac.

Of the main events, Loch Dart salmon with English Seaweed and Cornish mussels could do with some zest and crunch to cut through the slimy saltiness. And the lamb and sweet breads is heavy after a few mouthfuls.

Though the tasting experiences features three bitesize ‘intros’ and seven courses, the delicate portions don’t leave you stuffed. Indeed, the exquisite blend of sharp and sweet in the puddings of blood orange jelly, yoghurt and chocolate then rhubarb and custard, left us (greedily) wanting more.

We reviewed Anglo on its very first night. It is clearly too new to have cultivated any kind of atmosphere. The minimalist interiors, with low lamps and bare washed concrete floors are stylish. But, what should be an intimate space of just 40 covers felt awkwardly echoey and empty. We're keen to see if this newcomer manages to pull in the crowds and become a fine-dining destination.

Anglo is on Old Cross St. and now open for bookings. Click here to go to their website.