Venue: Joe Allen
Food: 4/5
Wine: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Atmosphere: 5/5
Recommended for: Anyone who enjoys people watching, low lighting, underground dining and friendly buzz while enjoying excellent food.
Hidden away along a rather unprepossessing stretch of Exeter St, lies one of Covent Garden’s most enticing restaurants. The entrance looks like that of a small nightclub or even a Prohibition-era speakeasy, down a small flight of dark stairs into a vibrant bar and dining area. The walls are crammed with theatrical posters and the dark wood interior creates an old-fashioned glamour which I personally can’t resist.
The menu at Joe Allen looks fairly small compared to that of other restaurants, but it is so tantalising that choosing your meal from such a box of delights can be taxing. It took my friend about half an hour to choose what she wanted from the splendid array before us. Our friendly, smiling waitress, though visibly amused, handled the first-timer with aplomb, though she had to return a few times before taking my friend’s order and then again to inform me that said friend had tarried so long the dish I’d ordered was off the menu.
One of the best things about Joe Allen is its excellent and reasonably priced wine list where an entire bottle of wine is hardly more expensive than a main course. We opted for a bottle of Muscadet – a delicious, delicate wine which managed to be wonderfully warming without being in the least soporific.
To start, there was octopus and artichoke salad – tasty and zesty, the octopus springy yet not rubbery and the artichoke well-seasoned but not too oily. I soon forgot it had been my second choice and tucked in, happily.
After a suitable interval we tried chicken with sweet potato and chilli puree and lemon sole which came topped with crunchy grilled asparagus and warm, juicy cherry tomatoes. The fish was well-seasoned and pulled away from the bones nicely – and the accompaniment was a perfectly judged combination of sweet and fresh and sharp flavours. I can’t speak for the chicken, but my friend pronounced it ‘delicious’.
Dessert was a slice of Jack Daniels chocolate cake, so moist it was almost like cheesecake in consistency, and drizzled with both white and dark chocolate sauces. Utterly decadent! The coffee, too, was of an excellent standard – strong without a taste of bitterness.
Our eating done it was time to collect coats and venture back out into London’s snowy streets. Well, it was either that or order another bottle of wine and settle in for the night!
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