May 2014 seems like an age ago. In the world of restaurants, especially in London and all the more so in Soho, it is akin to a lifetime. Yet almost six years on from when the Palomar first opened its doors, the venue has lost none of its allure. If it was love at first sight back then, a recent visit reignited all the original passion.
However much others may have tried either to imitate or replicate the basic Palomar model, none has quite succeeded. To best experience what the restaurant is all about, come and sit on one of the bar stools opposite the chefs (there is also a smaller seating area at the back). To see is to believe. Words don’t quite capture the intuitive effortlessness with which the team works together to prepare dishes. Vibe and harmony matter. This is food-theatre, hour after hour, day after day. Everything is made with panache. Sure, the dishes deliver in terms of visuals, but are backed up by taste. I do not know from where the Palomar sources its ingredients, but the sense of freshness is undeniably pervasive. Some old favourites (such as the kubaneh bread, Jerusalem chicken or polenta) have been on the menu since day-one, but the angle pursued by the Palomar seems to be one of evolution over revolution: the much-loved octo-hummus has, for example, now mutated to become a glazed octopus offering paired with kohlrabi, date molasses and harissa oil.
My comrade and I traversed the menu with glee. We took three dishes from the ‘rip & dip’ section, one from ‘pasture & courtyard’ and two from ‘field & garden’ (stomach space sadly did not permit for anything from the ‘oceans & rivers’ option). Among our sextet, there was not one failure. Each dish was all about intelligent ingredient combination and intensity of flavour. The ‘beetlabneh’ pictured is a great case in point: all the dish comprises is puréed beetroot mixed with strained yoghurt and then topped with parsley vinaigrette, pine nuts and za’atar. Simple maybe, but undoubtedly effective. The chicken hearts and livers were also delicious and the Palomar’s polenta (combined with mushrooms, broccolini and truffle) has to rank among my favourite-ever comfort dishes. Combined with a carafe of Lebanese rosé, this was £45/head very well spent. Here’s to the next six years and more.