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A while back (I was hoping for Tom to do one of his excellent reviews)
went to Archipelago near Warren Steet tube station.
The restaurant is artfully eccentric - the exterior is very Thai or
Malaysian in influence and the interior is half antique store half
moroccan souk. The tables are set with cutlery that doesn't match and no
two wine glasses are the same. The menu comes in scroll inside a small
chest.
We started, naturally, with cocktails, and jolly nice they were two. I
had a ... something. I think it was called a Red Square or something but
it had strawberrys and vodka and was mightily refrshing.
To start with I had crocodile wrapped in a vine leaf and seared on a hot
rock. It was served, still in its leaf, on a marble slab with a small
indentation filled with chilli sauce.
The crocodile was fantastic - like a firm fish in texture but more meaty
in flavour. To be honest the chilli sauce was a touch superfluous, the
flavour of the crocile (which had been marinated in coconut milk, lime,
chilli, garlic and coriander I think) spoke for itself. Other starters
included an Afro-Asian Triptych (a selection of pastries from round the
world) and peacock goujons ("like upmarket chicken McNuggets")
Then it was onto some amuse bouche - namely strawberry and whisky
granita (delicious) and a tequila, lime and black pepper granita (the
strong black pepper was a bit of a surprise but not an unwelcome one).
Then onto the main course. Details are blurred at this point, slightly
fuzzy in my mind due to time and the 5 bottles of excellent wine we
consumed between the six of us. I seem to remember someone having a wild
boar goulash and someone else having aubergine caviar and
chipottle-chilli tamales on cactus salsa but I went with a lovely
kangaroo, well, stew I think you'd call it. Tender nuggets of Skippy in
a rich, pungent sauce served with crushed potatoes with chilli and
garlic. And a side sald of chard, locusts and grasshoppers. The flavours
complimented each other perfectly the tartness of the salad with the
crunchiness of the insects and the deep intensity of the kangeroo.
Delicious, the only only complaint was that i didn't have enough potato
to mop up the sauce.
And then the dessert - I plumped for a chocolate covered scorpion with a
sauterne dip. Scorpion, in case you're wondering, tastes like a
particularly good honey comb - crunchy, slightly sweet and definitely
melts in the mouth. The suaterne was superb - tangibly thick and swet
and served very cold. Lip smackingly good.
The final beer, after port and brandy was 77 pounds each, service
included. Slightly steep but considering we had most of a ~30 pound
bottle of wine and 4 courses each plus cocktails and port that really
isn't too bad. And well worth it for such a memorable experience.
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