Julie’s Restaurant: An era of sophistication?
Julie’s Restaurant An era of sophistication?
Julie’s Restaurant
135 Portland Rd
London, W11 4LW
Reviewed By Jacklyn Swiecicki
I had heard that Julie’s Restaurant used to have a reputation of being the flavour of the month amongst London’s posh notoriety and celebrities. To my surprise, as I descended down an old staircase that lead to me to the downstairs dining area, I got the distinct impression that Julie’s was now more shabby than chic.
Despite first impressions, our downstairs table was glowing in a cosy and romantic ambiance; perfect I concluded, for a special occasion. Perusing the extensive wine list, my companion and I settled on the New Zealand Morton Estate Sauvignon Blanc (£25.50). At first we hesitated to order a New Zealand wine, as we figured that back home in Australia, New Zealand wines are commonplace; nonetheless, this wine was truly a delight to drink, and its fresh and light flavours complimented the warmth of a perfect summers evening.
Whilst sipping on vino, I noticed that Brazilian chef Flavio’s menu was far too extensive, and making a choice was extremely difficult, as everything sounded absolutely magnificent! For a starter we settled on a dish of prosciutto ham, with decadently fresh figs, vine plum tomatoes and nicely salted mozzarella (£12.50). This meal was ideal to share, and it was a joy to get your fingers into the food and savour in it’s well combined flavours. Another starter choice on offer was the fresh crab, ginger and snow pea salad (£12.50), which also sounded light and innovative.
For our main courses, it was difficult to pass up the option of fresh lobster. Without much consideration, I ordered the fresh lobster with spinach, ginger, garlic, tomato and organic spaghetti (£21.50). As I waited a reasonable time for my meal, when it arrived a waft of garlic passed across my nostrils and awakened my anticipation. Shame it wasn’t my meal. Yes, the waitress got my order completely wrong. Nonetheless the waitresses’ willingness and sincerity in replacing my meal did not go unnoticed, so I was not really bothered to wait. Whilst passing the time, my companion munched on a superbly tender fillet of beef accompanied with sweet roasted garlic and beautifully cooked vine tomatoes (£22.50). Once my meal had arrived, I had already filled up on Julie’s homemade chips served alongside a garlic mayonnaise (£5.00). These slabs of potato had quenched most of my hunger; nonetheless I managed to appreciate my lobster dish. I had ordered my dish minus the ginger, but the true winner were the chunks of lobster that were remarkably fresh and moist. I did find that the garlic was secondary to the punch of the tasty lobster; therefore some more balance of the strong flavours would have perhaps been a better combination for this dish.
All of the puddings were priced at a reasonable £8. I chose the Italian baked almond cheesecake. It had a subtle almond flavour, although it seemed a little too heavy for a summer desert, but nonetheless a pleasing dish. Other tantalising deserts were the blackberry limoncello with mascarpone trifle shots; the simple fruit salad with lime sorbet was also worth noting, as the fruits were extremely sweet and tasty, and the sorbet was refreshing and tangy.
After eating a satisfying meal, and savouring in our last mouthfuls of desert, an extremely loud group of diners entered the downstairs dining area. This thoroughly put a dent in our evening, as it only highlighted how close together the tables were. The loud guests were not the restaurants fault; nonetheless, creating a nice comfortable space between tables is an important consideration for such an intimate dining area. Overall dining at Julie’s was more than a pleasant experience. My general remarks were that the menu promised excellence, and the food delivered; this to me is crucially important. However, on the whole my main critique would be about the bleak, almost tacky décor, which I feel needs a bit of fresh life injected into it, in order to lift the entire value of this restaurant, because I think it is truly worth it.
Julie’s Restaurant
135 Portland Rd
London, W11 4LW
020 72298331
Jacklyn Swiecicki Reviewed
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