This is anything but a tavern.
You've probably seen photos of Berners Tavern on Instagram - grand, high ceilings and walls adorned with ornately-framed oil paintings. Jason Atherton knows how to market a restaurant and this was another visually drool-worthy gem. There are plenty of restaurants in London that can argue a visual feast in the dining room but fail to covert when it comes to the food. I was interested to know if this was to be a case of fur coat and no knickers? I can safely say Atherton gets the balance right in this establishment - this is anything but a tavern.
The pork pie was spectacular, a true work of art. An intricate but hulking brute wheeled out to be carved with precision table-side. A generous slice was placed in front of me, served with various pickled accompaniments, mustard and piccalilli. My word, this was good. The pastry was a nice dark caramel colour, crumbly, with great flavour from the fat within its walls. The pork, deliciously piggy, was accentuated with the occasional crunch of pistachio. The jelly was, thankfully, correctly seasoned - as is so often not the case when it comes to pork pies. The pickled fennel and carrot were welcome partners to cut through the fat, with a particularly punchy aniseed hit. The piccalilli was remarkable, sweet and tangy, with great al dente bite from the veg. If I had been able to blitz that up and use as a pickle-back chaser, I would have been slamming shots all night long.
The tomato salad was vibrant and smelled like summer - largely thanks to the fresh basil leaves, as well as the beautifully potent homemade basil oil, which really tied this dish together. The tomatoes were stripped of their skins, bursting with flavour and full of sun-drenched sweetness. Served with crumbled black olive and creamy feta, this was so nearly a winning combo - but, ultimately, ever so slightly too salty all together.
Doubling down on porcine delights, I ordered the char sui pork. A heavily charred chop appeared, alongside bok choy and tamarind ketchup. The blackened crust, rich in honey and soy flavours, with a nice smokiness from the barbecue. The fat was crispy and nicely rendered, while the meat was tender with a hint of blush throughout. Delicious. The bok choy wasn’t anything to write home about as I suspect it was left in the pot too long and, therefore, a bit soggy. The tamarind ketchup was lovely, but just needed more on the plate!
We had heard so many people say we had to try that mac and cheese with beef short rib. It didn’t disappoint. Served in a cast-iron pan, it was piled high with crunchy breadcrumbs and tender beef. Now, this dish is rich and, having eaten the majority of the warm sourdough loaf before our starters even arrived, I was starting to feel the effects of my “carbicide”. Perseverance, however, prevailed and the bubbling cheese cauldron was conquered. I ended up dunking the last of the bread into the oozy béchamel and was inevitably left feeling rather comatose.
After a brief interlude, I felt I could just about manage to share a dessert. We ordered the flaming Alaska which was another dish to be served table-side. It's rumoured that Berners Tavern change the flavour of their Alaska every three months to ensure they stay seasonal - and we were just in time for their summer offering: strawberry ice cream, berry coulis, and velvet vanilla meringue, with pistachio and one hell of a boozy kick. Flambéed on arrival, it was a dramatic but delicious way to end the meal.
Berners Tavern is another elegant restaurant worthy of the Atherton Empire. Prices are admittedly pretty high for some dishes - £25 for the mac 'n' cheese, which makes £35 for a steak and chips seem comparatively good value. Portion sizes are decent enough and the table-side theatrics made the visit ever more memorable for a special occasion.
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