Review: Pieds Nus
I am both delighted and dismayed to have discovered Pieds Nus. Delighted because it served up one of the most delectable lunches I have ever had; dismayed because it’s pop up, so I only have until April to fit in as many more lunches as possible.
The brainchild of restaurateur David Moore, of Pied à Terre and L’Autre Pied fame, he has instilled chef Ed Dutton in this sort-of-shabby-chic space just north of Oxford Street. The concept behind it is that it takes a Michelin-style approach to making the most of the natural flavours of food. It sounds like a basic point, but it’s a notion which leads to a unique sort of preparation: a lot of the food is served raw, some is cooked delicately at very low temperatures, and a lot of dishes comprise no more than three ingredients.
It may seem like simple approach, but the result is a meal which is both complex and interesting. Sitting down to a table with breadsticks already waiting on the napkins, you instantly get the vibe it’s a place which celebrates the joy of eating. The regularly changing menu comprises around 15 dishes, all of which are all small and designed to be shared, much like a French version of tapas. We started with the bread basket (actually a bread hessian sack) which sported a buttery bacon and onion brioche, black onion seed flat bread and milk loaf. Slathered in butter or smothered in the homemade hummus, it disappeared quickly.
Our smiley waitress, Paloma, advised we order roughly three dishes per person, so we went to town sampling meat, fish and vegetable. The pickled, raw and charred vegetables with truffle was both colourful and flavoursome, bringing home Pieds Nus’ message that nature is the best chef. Fish wise, the seared yellow fin tuna with pepper and black olive was smooth to the point of being creamy, while the scallop ceviche was light and fresh (and, like everything else, presented beautifully).
Dishes come as and when they’re ready, but it does follow a vague sequence of light to heavy. After relishing goods from the earth and the sea, we moved onto the animals, with 82.2 spiced lamb neck and 98 hour slow cooked pig belly. Cooked languorously at the specified low temperatures, both cuts of meat were tender and full of flavour. The pork belly, with it’s crispy skin and ribbons of carrot, was my favourite, but my friend was enraptured by the smoked aubergine which accompanied the lamb (cutting through the meat’s richness nicely).
Small dishes are often deceptive, and our stomachs were filling up far too fast for our tastebuds. We decided to power through to pudding, and were thrilled that we did. The New York cheesecake is a deconstructed version of the dessert which is not to be missed, while the chocolate and chestnut frangipane was the epitome of a sweet and decadent dessert.
Pied Nus’ wine list is a decent size and well thought out. We tried both white and red (both during our mains and dessert): the stand-out glass was the 2010 Riesling from Martinborough which was fruity and fragrant, although all were dangerously quaffable. The staff are keen to advise when it comes to food and wine pairings, so it’s worth asking.
The small space was buzzing during our mid-week visit, and with only a few months left to go, it’s bound to get even more popular. It is definitely worth popping in to this pop up. I’ll probably be there, begging David and Ed never to close.
www.piedsnus.co.uk
The brainchild of restaurateur David Moore, of Pied à Terre and L’Autre Pied fame, he has instilled chef Ed Dutton in this sort-of-shabby-chic space just north of Oxford Street. The concept behind it is that it takes a Michelin-style approach to making the most of the natural flavours of food. It sounds like a basic point, but it’s a notion which leads to a unique sort of preparation: a lot of the food is served raw, some is cooked delicately at very low temperatures, and a lot of dishes comprise no more than three ingredients.
It may seem like simple approach, but the result is a meal which is both complex and interesting. Sitting down to a table with breadsticks already waiting on the napkins, you instantly get the vibe it’s a place which celebrates the joy of eating. The regularly changing menu comprises around 15 dishes, all of which are all small and designed to be shared, much like a French version of tapas. We started with the bread basket (actually a bread hessian sack) which sported a buttery bacon and onion brioche, black onion seed flat bread and milk loaf. Slathered in butter or smothered in the homemade hummus, it disappeared quickly.
Our smiley waitress, Paloma, advised we order roughly three dishes per person, so we went to town sampling meat, fish and vegetable. The pickled, raw and charred vegetables with truffle was both colourful and flavoursome, bringing home Pieds Nus’ message that nature is the best chef. Fish wise, the seared yellow fin tuna with pepper and black olive was smooth to the point of being creamy, while the scallop ceviche was light and fresh (and, like everything else, presented beautifully).
Dishes come as and when they’re ready, but it does follow a vague sequence of light to heavy. After relishing goods from the earth and the sea, we moved onto the animals, with 82.2 spiced lamb neck and 98 hour slow cooked pig belly. Cooked languorously at the specified low temperatures, both cuts of meat were tender and full of flavour. The pork belly, with it’s crispy skin and ribbons of carrot, was my favourite, but my friend was enraptured by the smoked aubergine which accompanied the lamb (cutting through the meat’s richness nicely).
Small dishes are often deceptive, and our stomachs were filling up far too fast for our tastebuds. We decided to power through to pudding, and were thrilled that we did. The New York cheesecake is a deconstructed version of the dessert which is not to be missed, while the chocolate and chestnut frangipane was the epitome of a sweet and decadent dessert.
Pied Nus’ wine list is a decent size and well thought out. We tried both white and red (both during our mains and dessert): the stand-out glass was the 2010 Riesling from Martinborough which was fruity and fragrant, although all were dangerously quaffable. The staff are keen to advise when it comes to food and wine pairings, so it’s worth asking.
The small space was buzzing during our mid-week visit, and with only a few months left to go, it’s bound to get even more popular. It is definitely worth popping in to this pop up. I’ll probably be there, begging David and Ed never to close.
www.piedsnus.co.uk