The Palmerston
Sitting forlornly on Lordship Lane in London's East Dulwich, the Lord Palmerston was a gastropub waiting to happen. East Dulwich has come along fast in recent years, with Franklin's and Chardon, two smart modern British and French rustic eateries, the first to shape the area, followed by Sea Cow and the East Dulwich Deli, which further hastened its gentrification.
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In fact, it's the owner of Sea Cow, a refreshingly hip take on a fish and chip joint (now also in Clapham), who is one of the brains behind the Palmerston, as it's now known.
Paul Rigby and his three partners snapped up the site last year, tastily refurbishing its surprisingly ornate - and intact - Victorian interior, with Deptford Market-sourced chandeliers and brown leather banquette seating, creating a 50-seat gastropub with Eagle-style menu, which opened for business in February.
Or, I should say, Bibendum-style menu - because that's where half the team originally came from. Chef and co-partner Jamie Younger spent many years at the landmark London restaurant, working under its equally legendary chef-patron, Simon Hopkinson. So did his sous chef, Chris Tabbitt, who put in a good five years there, along with Simon Newson, who once managed the restaurant and now works the floor at the Palmerston.
Their formative years are reflected in the appealing menu, which includes the likes of sautéd foie gras with grilled fig and Chardonnay vinegar (£8); tarte fine aux cépes (£7), fillet of wild sea bass with Swiss chard, red wine sauce and gremolata (£14.25), and saut‚d rabbit with borlotti beans, tomato and salsa verde (£13.75).
In fact, salsa verde crops up a lot, admits Tabbitt, who is acting head chef while Younger is taking a well-deserved break. "Yes, we do have a lot of Italian stuff on the menu at the moment - but it's not always like that, it's just the time of the year," he says.
The fresh borlotti beans (from Machiavelli) have appeared on the menu all summer, but they work particularly well with the rabbit, declares Tabbitt, who has been surprised by the popularity of the dish. The rabbits are French (from Harvey Nichols), in case you're wondering, and they're served on the bone. The saddle and legs are saut‚d for five minutes or so before deglazing with sherry and adding chorizo, plentiful garlic and chicken stock (all the stocks are home-made), contributing further to the gutsiness of the dish.
Gutsy flavours are the Palmerston's raison d'ˆtre. "We like big flavours - lots of big, simple flavours," repeats Tabbitt. The grouse is a prime example and comes roasted, with game chips, bread sauce and a juniper gravy - a bargain at £18.
The wine list is equally gutsy, with Argentinean Malbec (Anubis, £15.50) sitting alongside Puglian Primitivo (A Mano, £17.50) and Californian Zinfandel (Seghesio, £28), while whites leap from Toro Verdejo (Ovacion, £16.50) to Victoria Riesling (Langi, £23.50), supplied by two key merchants, Bibendum and Liberty.
Not surprisingly, the critics have already sought them out, making the rare trek south of the river. Fay Maschler was the first, giving it the thumbs-up and a star, while Kate Spicer rated it four out of five stars in Metro Life, which pleased Rigby and co hugely, not to mention the growing network of loyal locals, who will shortly be rewarded with Rigby's next project, the Magdala. Located 200 yards further up Lordship Lane, it's currently undergoing a refit and will open next month offering wood-fired pizzas and a beer garden.
The Palmerston 91 Lordship Lane
East Dulwich
London
SE22 8EP
Tel: 020 8693 1629
What's on the menu
(Average spend £35 including booze)
- Celeriac and apple soup, £4.75
- A plate of Italian cured meats with onion confit, £6
- Dorset prawns (shell on) with mayonnaise, £6.50
- Sichuan-crusted tuna with pickled cucumber and soy and chilli dressing, £7.50
- Roast rump of lamb with shallot and b‚arnaise tart, £13.25
- Calves' liver Venetian-style, £11.50
- Pumpkin and sage risotto, £9.50
- Passion fruit bavarois, £4.75
- Chocolate mousse cake with hazelnuts, prunes and Armagnac, £5
- Grilled pineapple with brioche and vanilla ice-cream, £4.75
