The Ninth, London
One of my friends from high school visited London. He was interested in whether I want to try some restaurants together and I obviously said “yes”. I should have mentioned his family ran several successful high-end restaurants in my home town Changsha. Although it is in a side road to a main road, the Ninth is located in a relatively quiet area full of restaurants. We got a table on the upper floor, though I prefer a table on the ground floor or even outside since it was a nice day. The set menu is fairly small, containing only five dishes including a final dessert. In particular, all the dishes are for sharing. It is a relatively small set menu but only at £90 per person.
The first dish we liked, together with my friend, is “Spaghetti, Australian Black Truffle & Age Parmesan”. The spaghetti was towards the raw end and very chewy, adding a hard texture. Both the parmesan cheese and the truffle flavours were not as strong, which means I can still taste the spaghetti very well. I enjoyed the simple but sophisticated presentation and the flavour.
Spaghetti, Australian Black Truffle & Age Parmesan
The second dish I liked was “Chargrilled Hispi Cabbage”, which came together with the main fish dish. I personally liked cabbage myself. The seasoning of the cabbage is very light but only a bit of salt to emphasis the unique bitterness and the “roughness” taste from chargrill. There were a few slices of daikon, also mooli, to bring in some juicy flavour. This entire small dish combines well with main dish comprising of chargrilled fresh-tasted sea bass and sour-tasted tomato.
Chargrilled Hispi Cabbage, Kohlrabi, Miso & Furikake
The main pork dish looked very disappointing in terms of presentation. However, it is surprisingly a very juicy and no fat sirloin or similar. I was impressed on their skill to ensure the tenderness, especially, pork must be almost fully cooked.
Iberico Pork Pluma, Salsa Verde, Tropea Onions & Coco Beans
There were a few dishes I enjoyed, but I was a bit disappointed in general. Although it is understandable to make a friendly and family dining style, the dishes all being presented for sharing for the table certainly does not help. I think that the dishes in the chef’s choice are not very impressive in terms of the presentation given the price point and the location in central London. Separately, we found the main part of every dish was a bit too salty while the side part had no seasoning; I am not sure whether it is the style. I felt I was dehydrated halfway through the night. I guessed the a la carte menu is probably a better value for a weekend dining out.
🐼 Score: 3/5
