Review: Trinity Upstairs, Clapham

Next in my review series “So… is it still any good?” is Trinity Upstairs, the relaxed small plate partner to the grown-up and Michelin starred Trinity downstairs. I was startled to find it empty on a sunny Saturday lunchtime, and only one other table joined us later. This is a travesty really, as we enjoyed one of the best value top-quality lunches I’ve had in a long time.

Trinity Upstairs is still definitely very good.

Snacks to start included crispy fried pork jowl with barbecue sauce dobbed on top, basically two bites of yum, and fried strips of brill with a vivid saffrony aioli to dip them in. The breadcrumb coating the brill was so fine and dry of oil that it looked more like tawny velvet.

We picked four small plates to make up a meal. In order of magnificence they were: a pleasant monkfish biryani which could have been braver in spicing the rice, roasted cauliflower with a raisin and caper dressing, home-cured salmon with melon, cucumber and mint, and char-grilled stem broccoli with a bagna cauda and roasted hazelnuts.

We just about had room for puds as well. Maureen’s was half of a beautifully roasted peach in a pool of velvety chilled custard flavoured with verbena. Mine was a perfect slice of salt caramel tart served with a scoop of very-salt caramel ice cream. The tart was an absolute beaut, sturdy enough to stand up but melting like vulgar silken cream in the mouth. Perfect nutty crisp pastry base. Great finale.

I was reassured a bit to hear from our waiter that the chefs who cooked our lunch were mainly up here busy doing mise en place for the evening’s sitting downstairs, and so the Upstairs space really doesn’t need to be full as it’s basically covering the cost of one waiter. Even so, come on people! £24 for a lunch I’d have paid £35 for and thought good value. You’ve gotta be kidding.