OK, you want to eat out well in town on a Monday? The issue you’ll face is that most of London’s top restaurants are shut as kitchens take a well-earned rest from service. So, where to go?
We appreciate this falls firmly in the ‘first-world problems’ camp, but we're here to fix it regardless. And by we, I mean Isa Bal and Jonny Lake of Trivet fame.
The pair worked together at Heston Blumenthal’s iconic The Fat Duck – Jonny as head chef; Isa as head sommelier – but in 2019 set out on their own with Trivet.
The concept was simple: fine dining but with all traces of pretence removed. It has proved a huge success, its two Michelin stars a testament to this.
Labombe
Jonny Lake, head chef of Trivet
Tom Osborne
Labombe's inspiration – Jonny's French assignment
This June, the duo introduced Labombe Wine Bar, a new concept which sees Trivet’s bar space open on Monday evenings under a new guise.
The idea behind Labombe actually goes back further than this summer. A lot further.
It was inspired by a fictional bistro created by Jonny for a school French project.
He scored a somewhat disappointing 6/10 from his teacher – with the constructive criticism ‘Où sont les boissons?’ scribbled across in red biro.
Three decades later, Isa has stepped in to provide with the answer, as Labombe serves an exclusive by-the-glass wine offering handpicked by the sommelier to complement a blackboard menu of elevated bar bites.
What to eat
Jodi Hinds
Let me be clear, there are no bad options here. For a two-star joint, the servings are very generous – so you won’t be able to work your way through the whole menu without being removed by a forklift.
Allow me to offer a few highlights to help push you in the right direction. Trivet’s focaccia is as good as it comes. Even if you’re trying to eschew carbs, make room for this badboy – crispy on the outside, floaty light on the inside with just the right amount of olive oil oozing from its pores. Onto the Mangalitza ham: slices of dark, marbled, juicy meat that melt as you tear it, the fat so thin it's transparent.
Snacks over with, pile into the mains. The lobster roll is at the zenith of its genre: whole grilled lobster claws still perfectly intact having been removed from their shells whole by some kind of wizardry, joined by a tangy peach relish and indulgent vanilla mayonnaise.
‘Hot tongue bun’ [pictured, top] not only has an excellent name, but is also worth saving room for. Served in a beautifully browned brioche bun, wagyu beef tongue is complemented with anchovy mayo and sweet and sour blackcurrant mostarda. Still got room? The grilled poussin with sauce diable was our dish of the day.
Finish off with the yoghurt gelato with black olive caramel for a sweet-savoury knockout that will force you to recalibrate your view of dessert.
What to drink
Tom Osborne
Each Monday, Isa will also delve into his award-winning, 450-strong wine list, choosing bottles to pour by the glass exclusively that night. This offers a chance for wine enthusiasts to try a curated selection of unique, rare wines, without the need to purchase a full bottle.
The evening we attended, we enjoyed a glass of Slovenian wine from Marjan Simčič. One of the best winemakers in Europe, he has a cult following among sommeliers at some of the top Michelin-starred restaurants. Simčič’s wines are typically only available to the restaurant trade, so it was a real treat to try. It’s a light, bright vivacious white offering an aromatic bouquet of pears, fresh apple and meadow flowers, whisking you far away from your London Bridge surroundings.
For something a little richer, we headed to Burgundy next for Bernard Bonin’s Initiales BB. Forget what you think you know about white burgundy; this organic wine positively effervesces with zesty acidity but is balanced by a beautifully buttery base, with plenty more going on between. Critics talk about wines being layered – this is the Dauphinoise of burgundies.
From the reds, the Château Haut-Segottes was our standout. This grand cru from St-Emilion is a stunner – a budget Cheval Blanc, it’s sumptuous and expressive; everything you could want from a claret. Much like the bar serving it, it’s quite simply, the bomb.
Labombe Wine Bar is open at Trivet on Monday evenings, 5pm-11pm (food served between 5pm and 9.30pm).
