Review: Lorne, Victoria

Have I reached the end? Should I stop blogging when I can’t think of any witty, amusing, interesting or tangential theme with which to start a review? Or do I have a duty, nay a calling, to provide the internet-reading public with short, punchy, considered reviews of some of the most delicious places to eat in the UK whether there is a sarcastic preamble or not?

Yeah, that.

So Lorne was good. It’s in Victoria, just five minutes amble from the station, and it’s got a sort of posh country kitchen vibe going on that makes me think of Petersham Nurseries. The food is attractive, balanced and tasty with clean and precise flavours. It’s very pleasing.

I start with veal sweetbread, with a nice crust of nutty buckwheat and a blob of burnt apple puree. Enjoyed it, though the little sticks of celery(-like?) stalk seemed worthy and unhelpful. Maureen’s crispy soft-shell crab was perfect with a sweet and tangy katsu-curry sauce, the blobs of avocado and sliced radish very much in keeping with the Lorne vibe.

Main for me was pork belly. Four cubes had a very good crisp crackling topping, although the belly itself wasn’t as yielding and unctuous as other recent specimens. They served it rather startlingly with half a lettuce. Yes. With tiny cubes of smoked eel hidden among the head of leaves. I call that torture. Forcing me to eat a whole head of lettuce just to make sure I don’t miss out on any smoked eel! There were some nice bits of sharp cheese and ham in amongst the leaves too.

Maureen’s turbot main was the star, as it should be. Beautifully cooked piece of cloud-white fish with a dollop of caviar and a wild garlic leaf on top. Served with white asparagus, slices of morel and a fantastically yellow vin jaune sauce. This was every bit as elegantly rich as you’d hope.

And they turned out some splendid puddings too. My brillat-savarin pannacotta was fairly epic, the delicate cheesy flavour making the wobbly white pud come over very savoury. Nice sharp apple sorbet and crispy candied walnuts went very nicely. Maureen had fun with a strawberry tart. And we all had fun with their epic list of red dessert wines, which go back to 1946! And brilliantly a glass of the 1961 Rivesaltes will only set you back £15. It’s not often you get to sample such ancient plonk and I was easily talked into a 1978 Maury for £12. Bliss.

So… some lovely cooking. About £42 each for 3 courses before drinks, and you definitely need to save some budget for that epic dessert wine list. I think my main course struggled to live up to its price tag, but looking (and tasting) around the table I reckon most of the other dishes did. Still, although I think Lorne is a good find I can’t bring myself to rave about it – I’m just not sure it quite hits the heights of the final bill.