The Underground Restaurant

Recently there's been quite a lot of press about this Underground Restaurant - so called because it's held in Ms Marmite Lover's front room, payment is upfront and there is a set menu. Myself and three others decided to pay it a visit, after reading favourable reviews on blogs, such as here.

So, on a sunny Saturday, I tackled London's transport system. It's not easy trying to get from north east London where I was visiting friends, to Kilburn, especially when TFL decide to suspend the entire Victoria Line and part of the Jubilee line all weekend. I ended up arriving half an hour early due to being overly cautious. When we arrived at Ms Marmite Lover's house, we were greeted by her daughter, who was also an excellent waitress. After a Kir Semi-Royale, we were seated to tuck into olives.

The Spring Menu started off with raviolo stuffed with Portabello, button and oyster mushrooms with an onion cappucino foam, cooked by Charlie Nelson. This was excellent - the pasta was well made, and the onion sauce was delicious. I was even allowed to sip more sauce from a ladle out of a massive pot of it later that evening.

Next up was salmon en papillote with creme fraiche and dill, along with Aga roasted new potatoes and rocket and watercress salad. The salmon was perfectly cooked; moist on the inside. The potatoes had roasted into sweet nuttiness and were lovely and fluffy inside. Happily enough we were offered seconds.

With 18 diners in the room, the atmosphere was great; nicely noisy and everyone was obviously having a good time. It was pretty spacious too - I don't know about you, but even having 10 people in my front room would be a struggle, let alone double that. We had brought our own wine and because we'd had a few pre-dinner pints, our table was quite lively.

To finish off the meal, we had tart au citron. The tart had just the right amount of tartness and was accompanied by some cream and a pretty chocolate-dipped physalis. An impromptu piano performance / Elton John sing-a-long (I may have been drinking... rather a lot) from Chris finished off the evening nicely. Unfortunately we couldn't stay for coffee as we had to dash for the last train. So all in all, we spent almost 3 hours at Ms Marmite Lover's place which is longer than one usually spends in restaurants; proof indeed of what an excellent and fun host she is, as it was a surprise when we checked the time.

It's a great idea, and one I hope catches on. I for one don't have the facilities (or the nerve) but I had a great time and I think it's an experience worth having.