Giaconda Dining Room

bellaphon

Sydney's loss is London's gain. 25th September 2008

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Most of what I want to say about this place has already been said on the well-judged and well-conceived reviews from the triumvirate of Sue, Gastro1 and Chrisp.

Just as well I booked for lunch, the dining room was already packed with business lunchers and arty luvvies by the time we turned up at 1pm. The service is akin to travelling First Class on Qantas (I’m only assuming please), efficient and to the point but boy did I start to wonder what’s going to be like during dinner instead. My signature starter of Crisped Pigs Trotters and Eggs Mayonnaise was perfectly balanced and delicately unctuous; I might request this as a mains option on my next visit. My dining companion’s Shellfish Bisque was unfortunately a little under-salted, personally I think this could’ve been remedied with the addition of some grated Gruyère. For the main course I decided to go "off-piste", as everyone else in the room seemed to opt for either the Roast Salmon or Grilled Sirloin; my delicious Tripe Braised with Chorizo, Smoked Paprika & Butter Beans was basically grown up baked beans for the discerning palate. The companion’s Duck Confit and Roast Potatoes was pretty much epic in proportions, it took him forever to finish the plate up (obviously good enough as a dish as he has a habit of leaving most of his food half-finished). We ended up the meal with a shared pudding of Poached Peach and Eton Mess; this was the star dish of the meal for me at The GDR for it was so fruity, crunchy and sensibly creamy, it was the perfect end to a delicious and good value meal.

The location is great, one can now rid of the lunch excesses by window shopping around the guitar stores on the same street or admiring that fine carbuncle nearby otherwise known as the Centre Point tower.

Niamheen at 26/09/08

Oh, I want those trotters and the duck confit. Sounds fabulous.

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chrisp

Tiny and terrific 16th September 2008

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A restaurant surely couldn't want for a better set of reviews than those achieved by The Giaconda in its opening month. Timeout (*****) and The Guardian joined a growing set of bloggers and foodies to lavish praise on the Soho eatery. At first glance, it's hard to figure out what the fuss is about. The menu reads well enough I suppose - a mixture of Mediterranean and British-inspired dishes including such choice items as foie gras and rack of lamb for two. The room is tiny but pleasantly lit, and the man and wife team that handle the kitchen and front of house respectively are clearly confident and accomplished in their respective roles, but it's hardly the kind of thing we haven't seen before in the capital. What has people excited, I think, is that as the economy continues to tumble and even those lucky diners who aren't feeling the pinch are at least encouraged to feel guilty about it, it is becoming common for reviewers and critics to highlight that extra element of value for money in their overall appraisal of a restaurant. Tayyabs, for example, has been around for the best part of 30 years but the reason it won Indian Restaurant of the Year in 2008 was because people have finally come to their senses and exposed the folly of Indian Fine Dining (Benares, Amaya, et. al.) - why pay £30 for Chicken Tikka in Mayfair when you can get it for £1 in Whitechapel? And The Giaconda not only serves very reasonably priced food and cooks it well, but all the wines are marked up the same amount, meaning there's barely anything on the list more than £30 a bottle, and a £1 cover charge (something I usually hate) gives you bread and butter, an endless supply of still or sparkling water and a little bowl of radishes to nibble on while perusing the menu. In short, The Giaconda may not be the cheapest restaurant in London but you genuinely feel you're making your pennies and pounds go as far as they possibly can - something guaranteed to win over hearts and minds in these post-credit crunch times.

Despite having mentioned how tempting the menu was, I managed to order two courses not even on it. The foie gras "au Torchon" was replaced by a seared slab of lovely creamy foie in a rich butter bean sauce, and was absolutely heavenly. I have rarely had better cooked foie gras in the top restaurants in London, so at £10.50 for this generous portion, cooked to perfection, this was an absolute bargain.

My main course, unfortunately, was less successful. An admittedly generous amount of pork belly, moist and cooked very well, was presented on a thick, creamy risotto which did nothing to offset the fatty pig meat and about two mouthfuls in became a chore to get through. I did my best to clear the plate (I'm such a trooper) but when I actually started to feel physically sick from all that richness I had to give up. A companion's plate of salmon looked a bit slimy and didn't have the texture of a great piece of fish, but was cooked well with a nice crispy skin and the "deconstructed piccalilli" was a good sharp accompaniment. We also ordered a side of chips, which were pretty good, too. I am willing to believe I chose badly as better people than me have raved about their meals here, but as the only plate of food to actually make me nauseous for as long as I can remember, I must deduct points for that.

The Giaconda's final nod to the diner on a budget is to leave the service charge off the final bill. True, it does say in rather threatening capital letters SERVICE NOT INCLUDED underneath, but it's still nice that they leave the tip up to you rather than slapping on the customary 12.5%. We still tipped 12.5%, as it happens, as the service had been very good, so everyone's a winner. In fact, the "trick" with the bill neatly sums up my experience in this restaurant. The food wasn't top-class but in doing various things just well enough and managing to make you feel you're getting the bargain of a century whereas you're just in fact getting a decent meal at gastropub prices, it satisfies your soul as well as your belly. They've even managed to get a cover charge out of me without the usual accompanying rant, so for that alone they deserve all the praise they can get.

gastro1

Welcome back to London Mr Merrony 6th September 2008

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This is a great restaurant that serves very good food made from excellent well chosen and sourced ingredients.

The restaurant has about 32 covers and is likely to expand into some unused space at the rear.

It is clear that Paul Merrony the chef and co owner has a very specific food philosophy and has not only had a top (cooking) education that includes Le Gavroche London, La Tour d'Argent in Paris and top restaurants down under but has chosen to apply his superb technique to serving Franco/Italian bourgeois/home cooking with the addition of the odd British classic.

I plan to eat my way through the menu over the next few weeks.

But based on my first meal I was thoroughly impressed.

Artichoke vinegrette was perfectly cooked , served and presented.

The simply grilled rib eye steak served with some sliced tomatoes that actually had taste was excellent.

I also tasted a good pork chop ( probably Gloucester old spot or Tamworth) and a remarkable pigs trotter starter.

The wine list is mainly French , Italian and Spanish with for London minimal mark ups ( a bit like Andrew Edmonds)

My guest had a prune compote with creme anglaise and ice cream that was stunning whilst I had a very good Stilton from Neal's Yard

Negatives for me were the bread - Ciabatta and the chips. I expected the latter to be had cut real chips but the restaurant had either run out or always serve Brake Bros or even McCains. I appreciate the restaurant staffed by one front of house and Paul + an apprentice in the kitchen cannot do everything but if you are going to buy in bread than I would recommend something a bit more crusty form say Baker & Spice (wholesale). As for chips no excuses !

This is exceptional cooking at very good value.

sue at 06/09/08

Glad you enjoyed it!

Niamheen at 06/09/08

Wow - I must go!

Niamheen at 06/09/08

Although, I do agree with you on the bread issue and the chips. Still, the menu sounds right up my street.

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sue

Good value for central London 23rd August 2008

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The Giaconda Dining Room opened just a couple of months ago in an unlikely street that is better known for its guitar shops than its cuisine. When I first read about this new restaurant I moved it straight to the top of the to-do list, mainly as the chef/owner is an Aussie who had a very good name in the Sydney dining scene a few years back.

On arrival the greeting from the lovely French waitress was friendly, and continued to be so throughout the meal. She was charming, and did nice things like, for example, telling me not to bother ordering extra salad as a serve came with one of the other dishes and would be enough for two.

The décor in the small dining room is fairly plain, with the tiny kitchen to the rear. Toilets are downstairs and are not nice - obviously weren't renovated before the Giaconda Dining Room opened. They could at least buy a toilet seat that fits.

A 'cover charge' of £1 per person is charged which covers the bread and unlimited water - this was good value for us as we drank a few carafes of sparking water, and ordinarily we would order a couple of bottles anyway.

The food is a mix of French/British/European, with a great sounding menu making the ordering process difficult. The three of us couldn't decide on which starter to order, so we ordered three to share - the Shellfish Bisque; the "Boneless (almost!) & Crisped Pigs Trotters" (as it is written on the menu); and the special of the day, Foie Gras with green bean salad. The bisque was flavoursome, the pigs trotters were a little bland. The foie gras was melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

For main course we had the Ham Hock Hash; the Rib Eye with chips and salad; and the Crisp Roast Salmon with deconstructed piccalilli. The Ham Hock Hash was the favourite. Desserts had to be sampled, and we opted for the Chocolate Truffle cake with coffee sauce; and the Tiramisu. Both were very rich - I couldn't finish my cake - and the tiramisu was nice and groggy.

Prices are lower than average for the quality of the meals on offer, and service and atmosphere were great. Certainly hope to return.

gastro1 at 28/08/08

Yep like the sound of this place it's on my hit list. Thanks

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