There’s no doubting that Alex Claridge comes up with some remarkably obscure and opaque restaurant names when he puts his mind to it. Nomad was fairly clear and that was forcibly changed to The Wilderness by a powerful and bullying American. Next came Nocturnal Animals which was obscure until the name was explained and that too was changed to Kisama after Claridge had appointed Pedro Miranda to be Head Chef there and when the emphasis of the food served moved even more in the direction of Japanese and Far eastern-style cuisine which had also been the case, but less discernible, with Nocturnal Animals.
So the name of the new restaurant - A_D_C - appeared equally obscure though the icon of the head of an albatross provided a clue. This motif is said to have arisen from his feeling that the lovely old factory building in Newhall Square where he shared a business, Atelier, with Robert Wood had become an albatross around Claridge’s neck after Wood moved on and the D_C emphasised the problem it caused him by standing for ‘Death cult’. This, at least to an outside observer, seemed somewhat pessimistic as earlier in 2023, Marius Gedminas, Head Chef at The Wilderness, with Sonal Clare, had hosted some spectacular evenings with the temporary restaurant opening for a limited period under the guise of Counter, taking its name from the counter around which diners sat while Gedminas prepared wonderful Japanese sushi and sashimi dishes in front of their eyes and, delightfully, under their noses.
A_D_C was designed to open just three evenings a week, serving a broader range of dishes - fifteen in total from an inventive tasting menu - but still with an extremely heavy Japanese and Far Eastern inspiration. The dishes were curated by Gedminas and prepared meticulously by two chefs from The Wilderness and presented by them with meticulous preparation, using exquisitely high quality ingredients - many from Japan - as well as with wit and humour. This was very much a restaurant for those who know, though that may not have been the intention. After dining there twice, including on the first evening of service to the dining public, I was reminded very much of Grace And Savour though Aa_D_C’s dishes were more consistent and mostly faultless.
The opening of A_D_C was very much the gastronomic event in Birmingham in 2023.
The greeting on arrival was professional and friendly as the staff, old friends from The Wilderness, recognised customers of that establishment who wanted a bit of the new action. There was a range of sake to choose from as well as wines and cocktails but it was necessary to be cautious in the alcohol area as many of the dishes were light, though admittedly numerous, but unwise alcohol excess might well have brought later regrets.
But at the end of the day it was the food I was there for and after observing the theatre of preparation, the audience was rewarded by a culinary performance to rival an Olivier or a Gielgud. There was no holding back - first off a lovely nori crustade with kombu trout and smoked trout roe. The sea was washing inshore and the flavours were delightfully maritime. Then, exquisite sea bass sashimi, the flesh glistening like a thin sheet of rare metal and a heat from jalapeño and a sliver of rare olive. A very fine dish indeed.
Then followed silvery slices of mildly charred mackeral, its oiliness soothed by sweet nashi pear and served with the slight spice and mild bitterness of marigold. Remarkable. There were slices of raw Orkney scallop, gorgeous, with the sweet and cheeky shock of melon as well as yuzu, all of which worked together to shine a new light on scallops. And then, an instant favourite - ‘crab doughnut’, what could be more enticing and disgracefully enjoyable?
Dishes came out, paced nicely - an excellent and original kombu celery with sweet toffeed walnut, the a sublime chutoro sashimi with a smidgen of rare and expensive wasami (beautifully executed, the meat of the fish quite sublime). There was the witty frippery of a splendidly crispy Yukon Gold chip (you can see we had drifted some way now from classic Japanese cuisine) surmounted by a fabulous Wagyu tartare and a nasturtium leaf.
Chef continued to indulge the diners with the happy jest of three crispy mussels and a tangy katsu curry. More restrained but full of flavour, a lovely chunk of tuna, caught off Portugal, shipped to Japan and then shipped here. No matter how many air miles it had collected it was a wittily sophisticated dish.
Cod poached to perfection was accompanied by XO - another excellent dish; then Iberico pork cheek served with char siu raised a gasp of approval from those gathered around the counter.
And so to desserts which, as we might expect, brought with them as much originality and pleasure as all that which had preceded them. Crispy slices of miso apple, sweet and umami, combined with the warming effect of sesame made this a dessert to remember and the meal came to an end with a rollo-like chocolate and vanilla invention with soft toffee at the centre splendidly shot through with mildly discernible fishy flavour of katsuobushi. This was a brilliant creation. Marius Gedminas seems to have no boundaries to his brilliance.
What a night. And just to completely indulge myself I returned to A_D_C the following week to eat all the same dishes again. My repeat visit was no less enjoyable the second time (if anything two or three dishes were even slightly better.
All this brilliance for £75.
Rating:- 🌞🌞🌞
No comments:
Post a Comment