Visiting J. Sheekey is like stepping back in time. It's a London institution and part of Caprice Holdings (of The Ivy fame) with walls lined with black and white photos of the great and the good who've dined there. If you're looking for a drinking spot before visiting, you could do a lot worse than visit the Cork and Bottle just off Leicester Square. This part of London has a real dearth of decent wine bars with plastic chains and fake "ye olde" taverns in abundance, so it was a treat to find this subterranean gem with over 300 wines on the list, and many affordable greats. Their menu looks good too, but that's getting off topic...
Back to the main course, or, the starter in this case! Famed for it's seafood, J. Sheekey's is a fish-lover's paradise. We started with a deliciously creamy, yet light cauliflower soup with tortelloni of prawn and scallop. It's sadly not very photogenic, though, so you'll have to imagine... This was followed by a somewhat decadent main of whole lobster thermidor. The lobster was fresh, with a good creamy sauce, enriched with all the right ingredients. Oddly though, the standout part of the dish was the side of chips! Can it be that these were rated my highest potato dish of 2012? They're certainly in the top 3 and number one for chips.
My other half's main of Loch Duart Salmon was somewhat more restrained. Perfectly chargrilled, and a giant portion, with some steamed spinach on the side. Don't worry, though readers, he had wrestled with this beast of a whole crab as a starter, so it's not like he was missing out! (And he stole half of my chips. It must be love to have lived to tell the tale).
The crab and salmon both screamed quality ingredients, as did the dover sole and monkfish and prawn curry our friends chose. It bears repeating - if you love fish, you won't be disappointed!
The crab and salmon both screamed quality ingredients, as did the dover sole and monkfish and prawn curry our friends chose. It bears repeating - if you love fish, you won't be disappointed!
By the end of this feast, all 4 of us were completely beaten. But then the dessert menu appeared. Try as we might, we failed to order nothing. Instead we shared a creme brulee with Yorkshire rhubarb. The consensus of opinion was that the rhubarb was an affectation (all the more for me then!), the crispy coating could have been thicker, but the creme anglaise inside was at exactly the right level of sweetness and thickness.
In terms of the wines, as you'd expect, the Albarino was great and went perfectly with all the fish. Given it's fashionability, it was £41, which is a bit more than I'd like to pay for it. So for our second bottle we scaled back to Picpoul-de-Pinet which was a very different proposition, but pleasing all the same. J. Sheekey has a decent wine list, and it also sells meat dishes, but you're really here for the fish. Let it shine.
It's also worth standing a while at the bar for a glass of something fizzy as an aperitif just to soak up the vibe of old-fashioned formal (but not too formal) service, and fantastic presentation. The way the tonic is decanted into a jug for the G&T is a touch of class.
Verdict? A lovely treat. It's London. It's an institution. It's Caprice group. It's not cheap. But you can enjoy the ambience and 3 courses for less than £50 each by ordering carefully. Sadly that does mean you've got to avoid whole crabs and lobster thermidors...
Merry Christmas and Cheers!
In terms of the wines, as you'd expect, the Albarino was great and went perfectly with all the fish. Given it's fashionability, it was £41, which is a bit more than I'd like to pay for it. So for our second bottle we scaled back to Picpoul-de-Pinet which was a very different proposition, but pleasing all the same. J. Sheekey has a decent wine list, and it also sells meat dishes, but you're really here for the fish. Let it shine.
It's also worth standing a while at the bar for a glass of something fizzy as an aperitif just to soak up the vibe of old-fashioned formal (but not too formal) service, and fantastic presentation. The way the tonic is decanted into a jug for the G&T is a touch of class.
Verdict? A lovely treat. It's London. It's an institution. It's Caprice group. It's not cheap. But you can enjoy the ambience and 3 courses for less than £50 each by ordering carefully. Sadly that does mean you've got to avoid whole crabs and lobster thermidors...
Merry Christmas and Cheers!
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