I’m going to tell you a story.
A story I’ve been trying to tell you for a long time now.
You see this is the second time I’ve been to Story Restaurant. The first time I fell head over heels in love with the place. Took some of my best food photos with the summer sun streaming in through the huge windows. I was so excited to share it all with you… and then disaster struck.
I wiped my memory card.
I know, I know. Idiot.
You know one of those horrifying, slow motion, “noooooooo….” moments when you realise you’ve done something really, really stupid?
Yea, that.
Anyway, PJ called to say he was coming to London this weekend & wanted to grab lunch. He wanted maximum catch up time, so Story was the natural choice.
There are no short stories here. You can choose between two tasting menus. One is 6 courses long, one is 10. But before you decide, they bring you a series of nibbles.
Starting with Crispy cod skin, smoked cod roe emulsion, carrot tops and gin botanicals…
Radishes filled with kelp butter & Malden salt.
“Storeos”, the evil (and savoury) twins of Oreos.
Delicious squid ink biscuits sandwiching smoked eel mouse.
Followed by polenta crisp, bacon jam, malt soil & carrot.
Frog’s leg, garlic & rowan berry.
I could *hop* up & down about this dish… it’s a real winner.
There’s a candle on your table, by the way. They light it when you first sit down & it’s worth remembering for later.
Next up on the pre-menu nibble extravaganza… Razor clam, crispy barley & champagne snow.
Sweet & salty razor clams with snow that actually tastes like it just fell from the sky, and in a flurry of excitement came down as champagne, rather than frosted rain.
Beautiful, too.
Slightly less pretty, but still tasty… Pork blood pudding with Medlar.
and last but not least a rabbit sandwich, tarragon cream & carrot pickled in bergamot.
Or traffic light sandwiches as we christened them.
Now, it’s finally time to choose your menu.
All 10 for us please!
The first course is Bread & Dripping. Warm, homemade, seedy bread arrives in a soft leather pouch.
Snug in its little burrow, the bread just begs to torn apart & dunked into the beef dripping.
You remember the candle I mentioned?
That’s the dripping!
While you’ve been nibbling on your little tasters, it’s been slowly melting into a pool of deliciousness.
Waiting for you to get completely over excited about & dunk that soft, warm bread into!
Next up; Onion, apple & old tom.
Finished at your table.
Not my favourite course (a little too onion-ey), but a work of edible art.
Much like the scallops, cucumber & dill ash…
Which quickly disappears, leaving an oil slick painting in its wake.
The next course was PJ’s favourite.
Foie gras brûlée with pear, thyme & ginger bread crisp.
You crack through the glassy top to get to the rich foie beneath, before piling it onto the delicately crisp gingerbread & topping with the pear.
The most unbelievably decadent mouthful you could ever hope for. Followed by a lot of “mmmm”s “aaahhhs” eye rolls & “oh my goodness”s… and then a few more mouthfuls.
The sadness at finishing your plate is only relieved when the next quickly appears in front of you.
The moorish & wonderfully comforting heritage potato, turnip & coal.
A rich dollop of mash with a black sauce to you & me.
Now, this next little treat is an optional extra so we just shared one.
A Snow White apple arrives at your table with billows of smoke trailing behind it.
Hidden within there’s beef tartar, apple and Perigord truffle.
If you dig each spoonful right to the bottom you’ll find a rich, truffle sauce that just makes your heart ache, it’s so good.
Very rich though, one between two was more than enough (and he let me have a little more than my fair share).
The next dish of cod, alexander & English caviar almost pales in comparison, but is still a joy to eat.
One of the things I most enjoy about Story is the crockery & the presentation.
Each plate is different & the framing of every dish is a surprise.
If I lived in a gloriously trendy white box, always wore black and spoke 5 languages fluently, I would absolutely have this on my wall as art.
Sadly I do none of those things, so I’ll just eat it instead.
What “it” is, is beef with grains, watercress & sloes.
As delicious as it is beautiful and the very last of your savoury adventure.
Now, on to the puddings!
This little masterpiece is simply called Almond and Dill.
A scoop of smooth almond ice cream, almond snow & fresh dill snow.
Imagine it’s summer time, you’re lying on the lawn and watching clouds sail by. Just out of earshot there’s a gardener cutting grass & the smell is wafting over to you, mingling with the taste of your treat.
That’s a bit like this pudding.
You’d like it, I’m sure of it.
The next creation of English pear, artichoke & lemon may sound like an odd combination, but is predictably great.
The only pudding I didn’t like was the Lovage, borage, milk & apple.
Very pretty, but a little too herby for me.
It seemed a sad note to end such a wonderful menu on.
Thankfully, the chef had two more tricks up his sleeve.
Rhubarb & custard milk bottles…
And rosy marshmallow teacakes.
The End.
Story is well worth a visit if you’re planning something a little bit special and want to impress.
It’s not cheap but it’s also not outrageous. The 10 course menu is £80, but you’ll probably want wine on top of that.
You can book online. When you do go in, take a book. Write a little note inside as to why you chose that book & leave it behind at the restaurant. It’s their way of getting you to share your story with them.
Pop down to the loo if you want to snoop through everyone else’s books!
After lunch, take a stroll along the water’s edge.
Take a touristy photo!
and make friends with the locals.
Now move along please, nothin’ to see here. (I think I could get into this whole policeman thing…)
