THE MODERN PANTRY

47-48 St. John’s Square, Clerkenwell EC1V 4JJ / Tube: Farringdon

Price: £56

Food:

Tea smoked almon, wo poached eggs, english muffin, yuzu hollandaise
Streaky bacon, two poached eggs, english muffin, yuzu hollandaise
Haloumi
Croissant

Drink:

2x Cafe Latte
Fresh squeezed orange juice
Passionfruit bellini
Lychee rose & raspberry bellini

What we thought

Amongst a cobbled square you would be forgiven if you thought you were in a quaint market town somewhere west of hammersmith, however it would appear you are not in the west country but in fact on the outskirts of the city, Clerkenwell. There is no denying that The Modern Pantry sits upon one of the most picturesque squares London has to offer. On a casual Sunday afternoon we were lucky enough to sit outside in the glorious sunshine and enjoy this spot to it’s full beauty.

The menu for this continuously popular restaurant is actually quite lengthy for a place of this type, however with a the daily date printed on each menu it is clear it changes often and with the season. Although having to book two weeks in advance for breakfast, after looking through the menu we will definitely be coming back to experience their dinner menu, which was just as pleasing to the eye and reasonable, at three courses for £26.50. As stated before we had been drawn to Modern Pantry for it’s infamous breakfast menu, and disappointed we were not, although greedy we were.

Like children at christmas we had sneakily checked out the menu before arriving and had pretty much made up our minds before we had even sat down. Also like squabbling children we had both argued over wanting the same thing, Eggs Benedict. Luckily there was a compromise to be had, one of us having salmon and the other bacon. We were feeling particular indulgent that Sunday and decided that an appropriate amount of beverages would amount to 2 lattes, 2 cocktails and orange juice, in hind sight a little excessive. The coffee sourced from the local micro roaster caravan nearby was smooth and creamy, and a pretty good attempt considering this was not primarily a cafe. The orange juice was fresh, cold and sharp. The cocktails arrived and looked elegant in tall champagne flutes, however on taste these were a little disappointing, the Prosecco a was too dry and the fruit essence slightly lost in this, we did not let this dampen our spirits and still awaited eagerly for our brunch.

The eggs and the haloumi arrived and it all looked beautiful, in particular the eggs benedict, with rich yellow hollandaise topped with bright green rocket and spinach. This was going to be one of those breakfasts that you wished would never end. As mentioned earlier, part of the compromise was that we would split the breakfast, having one portion of bacon and salmon each. Eggs benedict has and always be a huge favourite of ours, or basically anything with a poached egg involved is usually given the thumbs up, but this was beyond anything before. The eggs couldn’t have been more perfect, the yolk was runny but not too thin, bright orange in colour you knew these had come from happy chickens. The streaky bacon was amazing, crisp with a smokiness that complimented the eggs and hollandaise perfectly. The tea smoked salmon was light, and truly memorable, the use of tea smoking gave the salmon a completely different texture, taking away some of the silkiness making it flakey and intense in flavour. To top this off was a yuzu hollandaise, rich and creamy and a perfect accompaniment to this delightful breakfast.

A lot like eggs benedict we find it difficult to avoid temptation when it comes to haloumi, although we felt that this time it was one step too far and a little unnecessary and our greed had got the better of us. After such a savoury and rich meal we felt we needed a little taste of sweet to finish our experience, a croissant is what we chose given we had already racked up a fairly hefty bill. The croissant was buttery and flakey, however it would have been nice if it had been served with some sort of preserve, this is something we feel is lacking through out London though.

The Modern Pantry was a delightful experience, the service impeccable and although our bias may have been swayed by sitting in the sun we really did enjoy this meal. Yes it was indulgent for breakfast, but at the end of the meal we asked our all time favourite breakfast question….”could we do better at home?” and for once the answer was no.

Rating

Food: 8.5/10

Atmosphere: 9/10

Service: 7.5/10

Value: 7.5/10