Back in the Black

It's been five years in development, but for Steven Black the crab risotto on the menu at London's One-Seven-Nine restaurant is as good as it gets. Made using Cornish cock crabs and served with a plum tomato sorbet, olive oil and deep-fried basil (£10.50), the starter is something of a signature dish for Black.

"I dry the shell and use it to make a bisque as the base for the risotto. The plum tomato sorbet on top really lightens the dish, and there's a rosemary tuile underneath," explains Black, now chef-patron - he was head chef - of the relaunched West End restaurant in Shaftesbury Avenue that started life as Conrad Gallagher's eponymous London eaterie back in July 2001.

Following Gallagher's departure in February and owner Vince Power's decision to keep the venue open, Black set about taking complete ownership of the menu. "All Conrad's dishes have been taken off and the menu is now all Steven Black, so everyone knows the direction we're going in," he says, having also reduced the dining area to a maximum of 90 seats (from 140) by moving it upstairs to a lighter setting.

"Some dishes were fusion-orientated, and I believe that if you use Asian influences then it's important to have trained or worked in Asia for authenticity. So I stay with what I know - the clear flavours of modern French and European cuisine."

The popularity of dishes depends on the weather, with meat selling well during cold snaps and fish sales rising in tandem with the temperature outdoors. The main-course section of the à la carte menu offers a good selection of both, with duck, beef, venison and lamb vying for attention alongside John Dory, sea bass, halibut and brill. The brill, served as a pan-roasted fillet with dauphinoise potatoes, roasted salsify, wild mushrooms and a cappuccino of wholegrain mustard and parsley oil (£19.75), is currently a best seller.

And Black is particularly enthusiastic about a dish combining duck with figs. "Figs and duck go together very well, so it was a matter of how best to do it and with a modern approach," he says. The figs are blended into a cinnamon sauce and served with a roast suprême of Trelough duck caramelised in soy and honey, a pastilla of the leg, redcurrants and barley risotto (£20). Vegetarians are catered for with a separate selection of main courses, such as a pea and mint risotto.

Having originally trained as a pastry chef - as did his senior sous chef Richard Hugill - the dessert section (all £7.50) gets as much of Black's attention as the rest of the menu. In fact, he decided not to employ a head pastry chef in his brigade of 10, preferring to create the dishes himself while leaving the running of the section to chef de partie Luca Burgaretta.

"Desserts are a lot more complex than they used to be," says Black. "There are now two or three elements where there was just one."

Besides the seasonally changing à la carte menu, Black offers a lunch and pre-theatre menu priced at £14.95 for two courses and £18.95 for three. A weekly changing seven-course menu gourmand is available at £49.50 per head for a minimum of two people.

One-Seven-Nine, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8JR. Tel: 020 7836 3111. Web site: www.onesevennine.com.

A selection from the menu at One-Seven-Nine

Roasted scallop and seared foie gras with confit cèpes, salsify and parsnip purée, £14.75
A pressé of marinated plum tomatoes, globe artichokes, pan-fried langoustines, mizuna salad and piquant dressing, £13
Grilled fillet of halibut with a herb crust, truffle and cauliflower purée, baby carrots with a saffron and chive dressing, £24.50
Roasted fillet of Angus beef with garlic snails, creamed celeriac, wild mushrooms, asparagus and truffle fumet, £26
Chocolate mousse coated in Valrhona chocolate with lime sorbet and candied ginger, £7.50
Spiced pear tarte tatin with vanilla milk sorbet, £7.50