74 Charlotte Street Review | “One for the ’Rents if They’re Old and Hard of Hearing”
It’s Ben Murphy’s debut solo restaurant Given the fierce competition for diners’ attention (and their wallets) in London, the opening of 74 Charlotte Street, chef Ben Murphy’s first solo restaurant, almost feels quite daring in its ordinariness. Whereas ‘Fine Dining’ is currently struggling in London and many other places are attempting to stand out with crazy decor, music, and hyped viral dishes, this is a restaurant that proposes having a quiet dinner on comfortable seats in a plush but low-key dining room in central London. There are snacks, starters, mains, and desserts, and given Ben’s previous experience at Launceston Place and under Pierre Koffman, the cooking leans towards the classical.Eat ThisHaving said all that, there are still some playful touches across the menu, that work well in modern day “phone eats first” territory. From the snacks, definitely order the gigantic milk bread, served as a perfect whole cylinder and with a cute block of noisette butter and pumpkin seed hummus (both excellent). The “egg and soldiers” is served in a fake egg shell propped up by a little porcelain hand, and you use a classic bread soldier to dunk down to the bacon crumb beneath the light egg mousse. We also went for the fish and chip taco, the third and final dish from the snacks section, and suggest you do too – it’s a winner. Starters were squab pigeon, perfectly cooked and served with turnip, timut pepper, and a burnt orange gel; and the native lobster served atop a yuzu bisque. For mains we went full veggie (narrowly missing out: the beef wellington for two), going for the little mushroom tart stuffed with maitake mushrooms, parmesan and an egg yolk, as well as the clever doppio ravioli with two different fillings of butternut squash and basil pesto. We liked the side of charred hipsi cabbage with chicken skin too, although it was heavy on the vinegar dressing (and we love vinegar). For dessert you have to get the apple crumble soufflé AND call over the ice cream trolley – flavours will be changing regularly but we had a lovely scoop of fig leaf on our visit. Drink ThisThe restaurant (which used to be Monica Galetti’s Mere) is split into two parts, with a bar on the ground floor entry level and the restaurant downstairs. You can settle in at the bar for a drink pre- or post-dinner, and there’s a solid selection of cocktails and martinis. Over lunch we went for wines by the glass, including Ayala champagne; a lovely zinfandel from California’s Cypress Vineyards; and most interestingly of all, an Ortega late harvest sweet wine from Linden Estate in Berkshire. Why GoThere’s some excellent dishes to be found at 74 Charlotte Street. While it’s probably not one for a big night out with friends, it would definitely be a good option for something refined and grown-up, like a business lunch or when the folks are in town. Key InformationAddress | 74 Charlotte St., London W1T 4QHFor more information | 74charlottestreet.com
