For C's birthday I took him out for lunch. Now choosing where to take him can be difficult - he is wined and dined a lot with work, thinks "no meat, no meal" (apparently common among the male species?!) and is a huge foodie. Finding somewhere that he hadn't already visited with work, somewhere that for once wasn't a steak restaurant, and somewhere a little quirky would be a challenge. I also in the past have done pretty well with his birthday and so unfortunately for me I have set the bar quite high...
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Fortunately we live in London where the culinary delights are endless! Whilst racking my brain for somewhere - I toyed with the idea of Sushi Samba (too samey), Bob Bob Ricard (more me than him), Christopher's Grill (too safe) - I was recommended a restaurant called Texture.
Texture was created by Agnar Sverrisson and Xavier Roussetis and is a modern European restaurant with Scandinavian influence. It is located just behind Oxford Street and was awarded a Michelin star in 2010. The fact it also has a lovely champagne bar for pre-lunch drinks made it even more appealing! I booked a table for four.
Upon arriving at the restaurant we took a seat in the bar area and soon had a glass of champagne in hand to toast C's birthday. We were brought over some lovely crisps (a variety of parmesan, cod skin and rye!) and Icelandic yogurt based dip to nibble whilst we chatted and caught up on his day so far.
(Stupidly I didn't take any pictures on this visit so I am relying on the restaurant for photographs!)
Whilst we caught up the we were handed menus to choose from. Texture does a Set Lunch Menu everyday with seasonal meals, at an exceptional price of two-courses for £24.90 and three-course for £29.90. Naturally we opted for the three-course.
We ordered before being shown to our table. Two of us went for new season english beetroots, goats cheese snow, pistachios and two for lightly smoked salmon fillet.
We were seated at our table and warm, freshly baked bread was brought to the table with olive oil. The olive oil was really tasty and light yet I did miss the absent balsamic vinegar.... We were given an amuse bouche of pumpkin and hazlenut soup that was very tasty and had been delicately flavoured with spice.
Wine was a Pinot Noir which was extremely light and exceptionally pale in colour. It was enjoyed by three of us, A found it not to be heavy enough (but then she is a self proclaimed big fan of heavy, rich wine).
The starters were divine. I have never tasted goats cheese like it, again very light, very snowy, and it complemented the beetroot perfectly. Delicious. The salmon fillet was a very good size for a starter and cooked to perfection.
Everything about the restaurant oozes 'texture'. There are many trees and branches used as decor, even a mini bonzai tree sits in the centre of each table, and the plates are a deep grey with textured cracks across them.
Another bottle of wine was ordered, this time a much deeper, oakier choice, both recommended by our friendly and well informed waitress, and both very enjoyable.
For main again we split the choices - two went for the pork belly and two of us went for the Cornish pollock with jerusalem artichoke textures. I have neevr tasted pollock like it, it literally melted in your mouth and was infused with a delicate buttery sauce, I could have ate it all day!! Silence had desecended onto the table at this point so I knew everybody was enjoying their main as much as I was!
After completely clearing our plates (something that I occasionally fail to do!) we all agreed how delicious the food was. Texture is everywhere - the food the decor, the crockery, no other name would suit this restaurant, other than 'Heaven'!!
Dessert was chosen - three of us this time opting for William Pears, cake, cinamon, ice cream, olive oil, and one chose the valrhona white chocolate mousse, ice cream, dill, cucumber. I wouldn't have thought cucumber would go with white chocolate but apparently it gave it a light and fresh taste. Every dish that we ate seemed to be bursting with flavours, however nothing was overpowering or felt too heavy.
Through the window we could see that the day had grown dark and the restaurant was slowly getting quieter, yet the waiting staff seemed in no hurry to usher you off the table. We thought we would have coffees before braving the cold December wind and this was accompanied with freshly baked raspberry macaroons and home-made cardamom chocolate truffles, I'm not sure which I loved more!!
Overall, Texture I cannot fault you. It was a delicious meal and a delightful afternoon! Not only was the food outstanding, the restaurant is light and airy, interesting with art hanging on the walls and texture everywhere, and the staff are very knowledgeable of the food, it's origins and the restaurant's history.
I was expecting lunch to completely empty my purse however with their set menu it really means that you can have the most beautiful food without completely breaking the bank. Don't get me wrong Texture isn't cheap and lunch will cost you (especially if you have the amount of drink that we opted for and all of the extras!) but you really are paying for quality.
You can visit Texture here, I suggest booking over the phone. Their lunch menu is available every day with two courses @ £24.90, 3 courses @ £29.90.
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