Lilly's,
Wapping High Street EC1
Lilly's
restaurant, bar and grill was opened
four months ago, in London's Wapping
High Street, by experienced operator
Simon Binder, who, amongst other
things, founded the Café Med chain
and served time as Managing Director
of Groupe Chez Gerard. "I really
wanted to open a good, neighbourhood
restaurant that would be the kind
of place I would want to go to if
I lived locally" he says.
Lilly's
all-day menu includes grills , sandwiches
and salads, but we went there to
dine to see what the main restaurant
menu had to offer. It is always a
good start when you can park outside!
First impressions on entering are
of a typical 'honest' brasserie (
i.e warm colours, wooden floors,
no table cloths!), with a bar area
to one side with its own low tables
for casual snacks and drinks, and
the main dining area divided into
cosy leather banquettes plus well
spaced tables.
The
décor is what Lilly's own publicity
calls 'eclectic', but I would call
somewhat confused, with a variety
of lighting types, ranging from 1950's
retro lights to full blown chandeliers
- to no great effect and for no special
reason that one could see. There
was an additional disconcerting factor.
With Lilly's being slightly below
street level and on a corner, with
floor to ceiling windows, it meant
that at our table, we were regularly
played over by the beams of car headlamps
as they passed down Wapping High
Street, over riding the otherwise
flattering lighting inside! Service
reflected the brasserie ambience
- warm, friendly, quick and helpful
-doubtless due to being overseen
by manager Vanessa Sharp from South
Africa - a country where they take
a positive approach to service and
are not afraid of hard work to achieve
results.
A
laudable nine starters were on offer,
covering the expected basics - onion
soup, smoked mackerel pate, Serrano
ham and so on. We chose chargrilled
leeks with poached egg and mustard
sauce and marinated roasted quail
with salad. The leeks were tender
and the egg poached to perfection
- just slightly runny - and the sharp
mustard sauce was a great complement
to the sweet leeks. My companions
quail was tasty and tender but little
evidence of the marinade came over.
The accompanying salad was judged
very dull and had no discernable
dressing. Some of my mustard sauce
was stolen to improve matters!
To
drink, we tested a carafe of the
house white - a Cote de Gascon -
which was perfectly adequate if not
quite cold enough. The quality of
a restaurants house wines are a good
measure of their respect for customers,
and Lilly's was on the right side
of 'very acceptable'. The main course
- and time to test the grill. There
were eight options and we chose the
sirloin steak with béarnaise sauce
and the marinated rump of lamb with
rich gravy. Alternatives included
salmon with braised flageolet beans,
liver and bacon, fish of the day
and poussin with fresh tomato relish.
Lilly's also have a 'Dishes for Two'
section on the menu with three options
- whole roast chicken, roast beef
rib and whole roast sea bass - all
served with mash or chips and vegetables
or salad.
The
steak had a good flavour and was
presented, exactly as requested,
just short of medium. The béarnaise
was well made - creamy and flavoursome
and the accompanying grilled vegetables
were excellent - tender and piping
hot.
The
rump of lamb was also cooked to perfection
with just the right touch of garlic
and was of trencherman proportions.
Some of the rest was not so enjoyable
- dry, tough peas, sad cold tomatoes
and the small cup of 'rich' gravy
seemed pure Bisto. The mash restored
ones faith in the kitchen - smooth,
hot and creamy - as did the roasted
root vegetables already mentioned.
To drink, our very helpful waitress
- Natalie Wood - suggested a glass
of a good full Shiraz to go with
the Sirloin and a spicy, soft Merlot
with the lamb. Both excellent recommendations.
What
was lacking here, overall, was a
more adventurous use of herbs and
spices, and more attention to dressings
and sauces. This could have lifted
Lilly's good, 'straightforward '
offerings to a higher level with
just a little extra effort. They
are not alone. One often wonders
why, in the 21st century, fresh herbs,
interesting spices - and sometimes
even salt and black pepper - seemingly
fail to find there way into many
restaurant kitchens! The result is
an inexcusable, unnecessary, blandness.
Our
desserts - lemon crème brulee with
cranberries and schnapps and a chocolate
and banana mousse, had a mixed reception.
The crème brulee needed to be much
creamier and as a result the promising
combination - although interestingly
delicate - just failed to come off.
The visually unappealing mousse was
not a success.
Lilly's
is what it says it is - a jolly,
local bar and grill, full of laughter,
chatter and clatter with a busy,
buzzy feel - ideal for a quick business
lunch or an evening meal when you
cant bring yourself to cook at home.
Portions are generous and ingredients
are of good quality. It is well placed
in a bit of a wasteland for decent
food, and a small amount of fine
tuning could make its restaurant
operation more in tune with what
we have come to expect in London
these days, but it has made a useful
start.
Prices:
Starters £4.25 - £6.20; Mains & grills £7.50
- £15.50; Desserts £3.75 - £4.50
Wines start at £10.50 for the house
red and white and by the glass from £3.90.
Stephen
Higginson
Lilly's
Restaurant, Bar & Grill, 75 Wapping
High Street, London EC1
Reservations:
020 7702 2040
Opening
times; Monday -Friday 12 noon -
11 pm ( 10.30 pm on Sunday) Saturday & Sunday
- open from 11 am for brunch
|