Applebees

As the subject of recent culinary trauma, I felt I needed a bit of a safe option for a meal. Hence we decided on Applebys.  Hopefully no surprises here as no polling agencies were involved (unlike *cough* Brexit) but the general commentary seems to regard it favourably.

Skipping straight to the mains, we decided to go heavy on the seafood at this fishmonger-by-day, fish-restaurant-by-night shop.  The hope was that they would not be busy serving the slops of the day but instead would be eager to prepare exquisite cuisine.

Whole sea bream.  Not bad with flaky flesh, delicately cooked meat and a light sauce.

Applebee’s fish platter.  A mixture of the catch of the day – ours had what looked like salmon, mackerel, cod, sea bass and a prawn. Ok but not particularly memorable unfortunately.

Lobster risotto.  This stole the show.  The rich risotto with lobster was excellent.  I especially commend the structural integrity of the rice.  When I try this, it tends to collapse into a formless mushy pile.  Delicately flavoured grains with deep lobster taste and just in case you missed it, more lobster on top.

Creole salad.  Not one for being much of a salad connoisseur, I felt that this was ok.  I feel that rabbit food like this is best left to the more dainty eaters among us.  That’s not me in case you were wondering.

Mixed berry tart with Amaretto ice cream.  Flaky pastry, with berries and ice cream. Excellent. The berries were fresh and sweet, the pastry just sugary enough not to overpower the berries and the ice cream, the coup de grace, adding a smooth, cool element to something very good.

Chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream.  In contrast to the tart, sadly not so excellent. When sliced the fondant did not ooze so much as unwillingly surrender to gravity.  The rather languid nature of the chocolate hinted at a less exciting taste.  Looks were not deceiving in this case.

Although I usually complain in an understated and sarcastic manner about any faults (real or perceived), my lack of anything particularly biting is because this was a pleasant meal.  With a good standard overall with some highlights, this was a welcome break from the rather lacklustre examples people have been feeding me recently.  Against such a backdrop, this seemed almost superlative.  On a more objective basis, if I had enjoyed more decent quality meals recently, it would drop down to good.  Still, no matter what reference scale you use, it was a solid dinner.

A quiet eating 7/10.

Dinner (2 courses) was GBP25 excluding drinks and service.

Applebees
5 Stoney Street
London SE1 9AA