Boisdale Oyster Championships at Canary Wharf, London, UK
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With 585 oysters sampled from 13 producers, Boisdale restaurants are proud to serve the prize winners on its “Six Medal Plate”.
Canary Wharf can seem intimidating, its towers, walkways and escalators hemming in you in. In the dark, you sometimes feel that you’ve surfaced in the middle of Blade Runner with no way out of the nightmare. It was with some trepidation, therefore, that I ventured to the Boisdale Restaurant to try their plate of award winning oysters.
Ironically in this sea of modernity, the restaurant reeks of tradition even though it’s brand new. Polished wood panelling, distinctive red walls, display cases of whisky and a jazz pianist welcome you and the traditional Scottish cuisine reeks of comfort. Indeed their mission statement says it all: “In a Modern World – the very best from ages past” and I couldn’t disagree.
Starting with champagne and oysters is a good way to begin particularly when the oysters are this good. Gone are the days when oysters were just oysters and now they’re distinguished by their provenance – Maldons or West Merseas, Colchesters or Caledonians. And if all that’s too much to take in, then know that “Natives” are circular, whereas “Rocks” are round. Whatever their shape, the ones at Boisdale were delicious.
This was a hard act to follow, but a huge slab of foie gras with saddle of rabbit did its best to impress and succeeded. Bring on the Aberdeenshire dry aged fillet of beef, cooked on the rare side, yet tender as it goes, and you have a recipe for a great dinner. Top it with a desert of crème caramel with almond cookies and everyone goes into the night satisfied.
The other thing to mention is the music. Owner Ranald McDonald started waiting tables at the first Boisdale and decided it was important to pair the tunes to the plates. Now all his restaurants have live music and T.J. Johnson, with his unique mix of jazz, blues, soul, country and gospel entertained us into the small hours.
Cabot Place , Canary Wharf, London, UK
Contact tel: 020 7715 5818, e-mail:
Cost 3 course a la carte: £25 - £35 per person
Useful links
The “6 Medal Oyster Plate” can be sampled at all Boisdale and Wright Brothers Restaurants until April 2012
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