I first went to Lyle’s within a month or two of the restaurant’s opening. I was there with a restaurateur and a chef and, within a bite or two of the first dish we looked at each other, nodded and proceeded to order every single item on the menu. Well, with the exception of the soup because it’s very hard to share soup…
It was one of the meals of that year, a dazzling collection of flavours and textures, appealing plate after appealing plate, a celebration of quality ingredients, sometimes tweaked and combined to show them off, sometimes left well alone to shine in the purest, simplest fashion.
Somehow, though, that was also the last time I visited Lyle’s. In the meantime, I happily recommended it to many a visitor to London: while my direct experience was out of date, chef James Lowe and his talented team have held a Michelin Star since 2015 so it seemed a safe bet that standards were still high.
And, happily, I can indeed confirm that’s exactly the case following a recent return to Lyle’s in – eek – their 10th anniversary year. In fact, it even held up to my no doubt rose-tinted memories, from opening snacks (and malt loaf-esque bread) to the post-pudding raspberry choux bun – and also by way of a brilliantly creative non-alcoholic drinks pairing.
Food & Drink at Lyle’s
A well-paced tasting menu brought treat after treat. Seasonal vegetables and cod’s roe was absolute peak-of-the-season greenery, some raw, some lightly pickled, some even in confit form. A Carlingford oyster, dressed with apple, a salty/crisp, sweet/savoury creation of simple beauty. Remarkable grilled sweetcorn with honeyed butter. A bonus extra course of fried squid, with black pepper mayonnaise that demonstrated exemplary frying and timing, a bar snack elevated to something so much more than the sum of its parts.
Bluefin tuna, girolles, a dish that, on paper, sounded like a very odd combination and on plate proved an unexpectedly perfect pairing match of sea and earth. An extra cheese course, of Durrus and Yr Afr, which showed someone in the kitchen knows precisely how to keep cheese. The deceptively simple dessert of apriums, raw milk ice cream, and almond cake that built into something clean and sweet and very satisfying.
And then there’s that non-alcoholic pairing. They do offer wine and, indeed, some very good wine. It’s just that, increasingly, when it comes to a tasting menu, and assuming there’s one offer, I lean towards the alcohol-free pairing. It’s partly an attempt to reduce some excess – five, six, eight glasses of wine, however small, take a toll – but it’s also that the non-alcoholic pairings are often made in-house, with ingredients also used in the dish it’s served alongside, and the actual pairing is almost always more satisfying.
In the case of Lyle’s, the drinks are indeed made in-house, frequently with leftovers and waste elements turned into kombuchas and shrubs of creativity and depth. According to my notes, I was particularly taken with a glass billed as “melon rind, chardonnay vinegar, apple kombucha”. Clever, delicious, refreshing and sustainable. What’s not to like?
Cost-wise, at the time of visiting/writing, dinner at Lyle’s comes in at £119 a head (plus £15 apiece for the squid and the cheese). That’s not cheap but nor is it that pricey – by 21st century London standards – for cooking of this level and what amounts to two, or three hours of pleasing entertainment. The non-alcoholic pairing, for the record, is £39 very well spent. Still very, very good indeed.
Lyle’s
Tea Building
56 Shoreditch High Street
London
E1 6JJ
United Kingdom
