Supper at The Merchants Tavern

It's not often that Flo and I get to get together for a little dinner and a chat just us two. Reading a cracking Grace Dent review of The Merchant's Tavern inspired me to book us in for a very belated celebration of our birthdays (which fall four days apart in August). The lighting was low, the cocktails were perfectly made to taste and the table service was excellent.

I've seen complaints about the service here elsewhere, but we had no issues at all. The Merchant's Tavern is the kind of place you should go when you're going to enjoy taking your time over a few dishes. It isn't the kind of place you would want to drop into in a hurry. Who are these people who go to great restaurants and announce at the door they only have 45 minutes anyway? If this is you, In and Out Burger is your friend. Anything with 'Merchant' or 'Tavern' in the name is not. Pipe down!

To the food. We ordered the things that we had heard were good and we were not disappointed. Having been unsure initially, we discovered that there are worse ways to start your Friday evening than with the deep fried oysters. These were melt-in-the-mouth pockets of fishy batter. We are both oyster fiends and agreed that we prefer them fresh but that there's a time and place for both. This may have been an excuse to order some fresh ones as a chaser...

We then went for the quail and foie gras starter with radicchio. This is a perfectly balanced dish and the signature favourite of The Merchant's Tavern.

The Tuna Carpaccio was an admittedly odd pairing with the quail but was meltily delicious and very fresh. The grated radish and citrus sauce were a perfect accompaniment.

We followed up with Pork Belly and creamed potato at which point our camera battery died - both of us the unprepared bad bloggers that we are. Whoops! The crackling was done to perfection, carried by creamy clouds of mash.

Mmmm... So head to Hoxton when you've got time and a dining partner to catch up with. Oh and the cocktails are so good, do what we did and hold back on dessert for another one. 

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