Review: Cora Pearl, Covent Garden

Cora Pearl is a pre-theatre restaurant in a Covent Garden side street. Over dinner we were trying to decide what kind of restaurant it is an absolutely typical example of. Eventually we concluded: it’s an absolutely typical London pre-theatre restaurant. Tiny tables closely packed, dark wood, carafes of wine, a couple of diners you’d swear are minor celebs, an avuncular old ham meeting people at the door.

The food is classic but very well done. Maureen starts with a sea bream tartare, with plenty of crisp cucumber chopped with it for flavour and texture. There’s a few discs of lightly pickled cucumber with a distinctive taste of elderflower and nicely torched bread on the side. I choose a burrata, serves with oily slivers of sweet and slowly cooked capsicum. The combination works well, although I’ve had better burrata recently.

For mains Maureen picks the vegetarian option, gnocchi with courgette and some lovely blobs of black garlic puree. It’s a very tasty combination, a light dish but surprisingly flavourful. Mine is duck and peach. Duck goes very well with scorched peach and beetroot, the sweet and earthy fragrances enhancing the pink meat with its salty brown skin.

Special mention has to be made of the chips. They are big and crunchy and awesome. It probably isn’t worth eating at Cora Pearl unless you order the chips. Seriously.

Neither of us have room for pudding. The wines by the glass (we tried three) were drinkable but not brilliant. The bill was about £38 for 2 courses, and I’m gonna have to say that’s not great value. Why? Hm. I guess for me Cora Pearl is sitting in a bit of an odd position. There are loads – absolutely loads – of places to get casually delicious food for far less dough, if you want a bite to eat before a show. Or if you’re looking for fine dining, there are many splendid options out there where you won’t be elbowing your neighbours and you’ll get more innovative cooking and all the fripperies like bread and amuse bouches. So… much though I enjoyed it… I’m not quite sure what Cora Pearl is for? The chips?