I’m sorry to report that since writing this review, North Road has closed.

Hot on the tail of the rash of ‘nice airy Kiwi places to have brunch’, comes a small litany of ‘chic, understated Nordic places to have a posh dinner’. North’s Road’s opening has itself been somewhat understated, but its light, clean decor caught my eye as a potential pleasant alternative to the previous occupant of this premesis (the pleasing but rather dingy Clerkenwell Dining Rooms).

Faced with the unusual prospect of a free choice, I chose two of the many lighter dishes from a menu punctuated with very of-the-moment ‘nose to tail’ ingredients, smoke and burnt hay. All exciting options! We were first presented with a selection of ‘snacks’ – two gorgeous, creamy quails eggs on some of the aforementioned hay; light as an autumn-leaf pork scratchings, and as an alternative to a traditional pastry for me, a veal tartare with horseradish. This was some way to whet the appetite so I didn’t envy the small bread rolls that arrived but could not resist a taste of the caramelised butter that came with them – a taste best described like sweet salty icecream.

I chose scallops with smoked bone marrow and raw root vegetables which was presented like a scattering of pale rose petals on my white plate, tasting full of rich and light contrasts in texture, flavour and temperature. Following was a meaty fillet of cod with clams, cauliflower and brown butter mayonnaise. The finely slide cross-sections of cauli added a new dimension to the vegetable, a slight tang to the mayonnaise really set this off, but the cod was ever so slightly overcooked. I rounded things off with an intriguing smoked icecream (adapted to exclude the malt topping) and a lovely fresh mint tea.

I fully expect to see some rave reviews of North Road soon, but for now it is relatively (considering the quality) reasonably priced and getting a table shouldn’t be a problem.

Glutenfreeability 9 (great choice, knowledgeable staff)
Food 8
Service 8

http://www.northroadrestaurant.co.uk/