Countertop culture is well and truly under way and Humo’s open plan kitchen is the stuff of dreams… But is the food something you dream about in your sleep? I know there are a few people out there who name this as their favourite in London, but I wouldn’t go as far as this in agreement. It started off well, we had some good dishes, but as the meal progressed, I didn’t see anything special. And to end the night with an awkward bang, the waiter accidentally manually themselves blocked the payment and left us unable to do it. Mistakes happen but this is not expected at one star standard. When you go to a restaurant everything counts as a whole experience and this one unfortunately fell short of a memorable one.
To start the meal light, we entered into the ‘raw’ offerings which Humo takes its inspiration from the Japanese sashimi. It was fine, pleasant as it was, but did it change my life? No. Sashimi should be strictly left for Japan.
‘Flame’ This means grilled in direct contact with AB55 whiskey barrels, HR2 Applewood and CM13 Silver birch. Sounds technical, doesn’t it? The dish that stood out the most from this section of the menu was the magnolia flamed Cornish brown crab, kaffir lime, versuvio peas, cumaru and courgettes. An exciting burst of flavours and textures all working well with one another, not against. I nodded to my guest as I ate this, “Yes, this is a good dish.”
But as I obsessed over the lamb at Pavyllon the night before, the one here was nowhere near coming close to that. The product itself was underwhelming, coming from Cornwall which is a place that I adore but fish and seafood are what this region does best. I found the dish forgettable; the use of the embers seemed a waste on this, and the beetroot sauce looked sparse. Plating up swirls is fine but offering some proper sauce on the side is key. It didn’t work for me.
For dessert we took the ‘Crème catalana’- Madagascan vanilla, Timur berry. I have to say that this was a great idea for the presentation, and being incredibly close to the crème brûlée, what is not to like?
I have not included every single dish we ate this night, but there is enough to say that I wasn’t overly impressed, however it was an ‘ok’ night. And with the error at the end with service, I found it irritating. Who knows if I will give it another shot and see if the next visit will be more rounded, but for now there is a world out there and that sweet spot isn’t in Mayfair at Humo.
