Tom's Kitchen at Somerset House

I hadn't intended to go to Tom's Kitchen. In fact, I didn't realise it existed until about 10 minutes before I arrived. Desperate to find a last minute alternative to eating yet another burrito on my living room floor I googled restaurants near Holborn and after trying the most obvious restaurants to no avail I stumbled upon Tom's Kitchen at Somerset House.


In the 10 minutes between seeing the name, booking the table (thank you Open Table) and arriving at the door. I also almost managed to kill myself. What they don't tell you is:
A) where in Somerset house the restaurant is (its opposite the main entrance)
B) how many  cobbles will be involved on the journey
So that meant that an untimely  combination of the cobbles, the confusion, the 5 inch heels and the wind caused me to fall very gracefully to the floor. 

After finally, finding the place my initial impressions didn't leave me much happier. The restaurant itself was depressing. Long, thin, grey rooms, tall ceilings, ikea looking artwork and tables. Not welcoming to a starving person with a bruised knees on a cold November evening.

The cure to all of this was obviously wine. The  wine list was patronising and written for those who really know nothing about wine. I include myself in this group yet still found it condescending and worse,  not all that comprehensive. The Boyfriend, designated wine chooser declared our half bottle of Chablis "okay" whereas to me pretty much any wine, especially when in pain, generally gets a thumbs up.

The bread was another issue. I have a tendency to resent restaurants who charge for bread. Even more restaurant who charge by the head for bread. Even more restaurant who will charge £1 per head for stale bread. I mean really, school boy error.

The service was also a tad off the mark. Our waiter was charming if a bit shy and very lost about at what point in our meal we were.They seemed a bit short staffed in general, despite the restaurant being half empty. Obvious things like filling of glasses fell by the wayside.
Luckily, things swiftly picked up from there

Charcuterie board for 2 -  22.50 

So much more than charcuterie, as it should be given the cost. I could live on this, I dreamed about it after I ate it. It was beautiful. Foie gras pafait( amazingly light with a wonderful flavour), smoked duck (not too greasy), pork rillete and Bayonne Ham accompanied by what I can only imagine to be home made chutney, gherkins and and some type of slaw. f

Plaice with lemon capers and butter - 18.00

I could tell the boyfriend liked his plaice from the way he failed to offer me some. He first declared it " the best fish he'd ever eaten" but later  "too oily". Still my invitation to  taste remained unsaid so safe to assume it was a  good experience.

Burger with bacon and cheese - 15.50 
It was a burger well cooked well seasoned but not exciting enough to make me jump up and down like the ones at Bar Boulud



Truffle Fries - 4.50

I was scared to order the truffle fries. The previous time I had attempted to eat them they tasted like petrol. These changed all opinions. Truffle-y but not too truffle-y, a delicate taste of truffles rather than a dousing.

The sticky toffee pudding - 7.50

At the risk of sounding like a 5 year old, it tasted funny. In fact, it looked like sticky toffee pudding, it smelled like a sticky toffee pudding but it tasted like christmas. Bizarre and unexpected but not wholly disagreeable. 
By the time We had attempted to finish the pudding I think our waiter liked us. Or at least wanted to keep us sitting there...

When he decided to let us proceed with paying the bill came to a fair 45 per head. 20 on a half bottle of wine and the rest on food and the included service charge.

Overall, would I go again?
Yes, I can't think of a nicer more reasonable alternative in the covent garden-holborn part of the world.

Would I travel far to come back?
Not so much. But a nice local/ on the way from the City back to Chelsea place to know about.

I think this place will only improve. It opened at the beginning of September and guessing by how busy it was on a Thursday night they haven't had a lot of practice to straighten out some kinks. The bread/service will presumably be corrected in time, but even those shortcomings weren't enough to make it a bad experience given the high standard of the food.





Tom's Kitchen at Somerset House
Somerset House
Strand
London WC2R 1LA
http://www.tomskitchen.co.uk/somersethouse/