Roe, London: ‘We decided we had to be true to ourselves’

The menu typically features three flatbreads, with a vegetarian option joined by the likes of flamed shellfish, bacon butter and parsley, or a dish that will no doubt become another cult sensation: snail vindaloo with mint yogurt, bacon and coriander.

 

“We went to [Tom Sellers’] Story Cellar and had the snail bolognese, which blew my mind,” admits Croft. “So we got to thinking about it as a versatile protein. The technique they do there, mincing it, was delicious. Obviously we didn’t want to do the same, so we thought about how could we use snails as a basis of a dish.”

 

Their iteration was developed with head chef Jon Bowring, who had experience of vindaloo cooking from working at Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant in Padstow. Here fish stock is swapped for beef, in which the minced snails are cooked.

 

“We first roast the snails in the oven with garlic oil so they get caramelised – otherwise they turn the vindaloo cloudy and almost slimy,” says Murray. “We roast them until they’re crispy and then cook them with all of the aromats and spices in the beef stock until it’s reduced. It’s finished with a punchy gastrique.”

Croft adds: “It’s a simple concept but a different way of looking at it. Spiced meat on a flatbread is quite traditional and a ragu on a flatbread is quite traditional, but the addition of snails changes the flavour profile slightly.”

 

Having been nervous initially about fitting the dishes to a more corporate crowd in Canary Wharf, the pair have been reassured by the reception to what might be considered more challenging combinations.

 

“We decided we had to be true to ourselves,” Murray says. “I remember our first corporate table we sent one out to share and they ordered another three more for the table.”

 

The skewers, which go hand-in-hand with the flatbreads, include chicken wing, padron pepper and satay, as well as Thai spiced sausage and Cornish octopus with an unagi (eel) glaze.

 

“The nice thing about the menu is if you’re a table of four you can have the works: flatbreads, skewers and a large feasting grill,” Murray says. “That’s what the menu is designed for. But if you just want a glass of wine on the terrace with cuttlefish fried toast and a couple of skewers, you can do that too.”

 

A selection of large plates are also available – including a venison and dairy cow burger and flamed sriracha mussels – but it’s the feasts section that catches the eye, particularly the Roe mixed grill with a flamed harissa haunch, prime cut, grilled sausage and smoked peppers.

“Basically it’s a huge plate of venison,” Murray explains “The fallow and roe deer have amazing flavour. Everyone thinks of venison as a winter thing, but fallow deer is fantastic right now. Roe is best in the winter. Nobody really talks about seasonality with game, but Mike Robinson [venison supplier and chef] has educated me on that.”

 

Sides and vegetarian dishes get the same attention to detail and seasonality. A surprise hit has been the blooming onion, which the pair sell about 70 of a day. They’ve become so popular that Croft and Murray have invested in a machine – bought from US chain Outback Steakhouse – that slices the onion open to create the ‘bloom’, before it’s battered and fried.

 

 

“We have two people working on them all day long,” Croft says. “It’s very-labour intensive.”

 

Another labour of love on the desserts menu is the pair’s caramelised banana parfait with peanut and toasted vanilla, which they consider a triumph. It originated from a desire to use the banana skins generated from the seven boxes their colleagues get through a day for staff food.

 

“We had the idea of doing a banana split for Fallow and had been trying to use the banana skins for ages,” Murray explains. “When our executive pastry chef João Dâmaso did it, it was a eureka moment. It’s better than any tuille and it’s just made out of banana skin.

 

“We  steam the skin and then cure it in sugar for three weeks. We then wash the cure off and dip the peel in a banana rum, which is made by us, and then it’s fried.”

 

The finished dish is a banana jam of mascarpone, whipped chocolate and banana ganache piped into a mould, which looks like a banana on the plate. The skin is served on top, with a peanut and caramelised banana ice-cream quenelle and a caramel sauce served tableside.

 

“The reason I like it so much is the caramel,” Murray admits. “We thought it might be too grown up for a banana dessert, so we made a banana Nesquik caramel. You need that fake banana flavour too. It’s just every good bit of a banana dessert on one plate.”

 

From the menu

• Cuttlefish fried toast, pork skin, sesame £11
• Maitake Cornish pasty, walnut ketchup £9
• Venison tartare, laab dressing, quail egg £15
• Baked potato, cheese sauce, shoestring fries, kombu ketchup £14
• Jacob’s ladder, garlic mayonnaise, mushroom XO sauce, onion ring £45
• Tunworth cheesecake, Earl Grey, hazelnut £12
• Black Forest tart, tonka bean, sour cherry £14

How Roe uses social media for dish development

Will Murray and Jack Croft have build a vast online following by sharing their chefs tips – and a bit of light-hearted take on kitchen culture – on social media. Their HERD Instagram account has more than a million followers, while the Fallow YouTube account has almost half a million.Their success is no accident. The business invests heavily in marketing, with four full-time social media-focused colleagues.

 

“We have a large social team and that’s due to the pressures of fitting in all the content,” Murray says. “We start filming at 8am on Mondays and produce 16 pieces of content. We keep going until about 4pm and then do evening service. It takes a lot of good people behind the scenes and a lot of planning.”

 

Croft adds: “It’s an opportunity to spend a day together and it’s great as we talk about new dishes then too. We’re trying to tweak the content about the dishes that will go on the menu to be more efficient, so it becomes genuine footage of us developing a dish to go on a menu.”

 

The pair don’t produce content for views and likes – they are concentrating on brand building – so any content has to be representative of Fallow and Roe.

 

Murray adds: “Instead of doing content and recipe development separately, we’re doing it at the same time. In effect the piece of content is a fully-tested recipe, so we can use it in training as well as on social media. It’s part of our efforts to streamline.”

 

Murray will be sharing more tips on social media at The Caterer’s upcoming Chef Summit on 15 October.

 

5 Park Drive, Wood Wharf, E14 9GG

roerestaurant.co.uk

 

Photography: Lisa Tse