Hidden away amongst the nouveau-industrial buildings of Wandsworth’s Ram Quarter, London Stock promises much more than your average neighbourhood spot. Every few months, the South West London restaurant rolls out a new - and very affordable - 10-course tasting menu (£65) - turning seasonal snacks into works of edible art, and we went down to their chic dining room to see what autumn has to offer.
Interiors at London Stock are a charming mix of sleek and industrial.
Before the first of the plates have even arrived we’re treated to fresh bread with seaweed butter, and a dinky amuse-bouche of duck liver pâté served on what looks like a tiny cornflake. Following this, two tomato-based starters prove a light introduction to proceedings - the first a selection of fresh heirlooms and watermelon cubes, the second a crispy pan con tomate. The venison tartare is a butter-soft cylinder that smacks of truffle and the sharp crunch of buckwheat, while the “French Onion Soup” turns out to be a single concentrated mouthful of umami onion flavour served in a skin and topped with yeast flakes.
We move on to the ‘mains’ portion of the menu. Dishes start to arrive slower here, but there’s a little more meat on the bones, so to speak - and also literally to speak, as the Cornish lamb chop presents a perfectly pink palms-worth of meat, flanked by barbecued red pepper and finished with a palate-cleansing “raita”, which turns out to be cucumber-wrapped soft cheese. Another plate provides the fish course - pure-white chunks of monkfish served with hispi cabbage and a generous drizzle of langoustine oil - followed by a dish of thinly-sliced roasted duck breast, paired with tart cherry.
Dishes here are as much a treat for the eye as they are for the taste buds.
The final dessert furlong is a two-fold affair, kicking off with fragrant charred peach served with yoghurt, oats and truffled honey, before we finish up with a deconstructed Cherry Mille-Feuille that offers semi-sweet shards of crunchy pastry assembled around cold kirsch sorbet and roasted almonds.
DesignMyNight Digest
If you’re looking for one of the most affordable tasting menus in London, then London Stock is the place to head for. Offering decadent, seasonal fare that promises as much in the way of visual panache as it does in flavour, they’re an excellent option for special occasions or a good old date night splurge.
Looking for more multi-course marvels? Check out our guide to the best tasting menus in London.
