Fallow won us over during their Heddon Street residency, which lasted five months thanks to pandemic and lockdown concerns. Now they’ve settled permanently at St James’s Market!
Will Murray and Jack Croft are alumni of Dinner by Heston Blumenthal with an organic approach, using traditional British ingredients with flair.
Corn Ribs
Fallow chefs relocated from Heddon Street in 2020, creating an eye-catching food lab at St James’s Market that exudes ingenuity with installations featuring seaweed stalactites and odd cubic contraptions sprouting mushrooms shoots – nods to Fallow’s insistence on using lesser-used ingredients that maximise flavor from British ingredients while minimising waste. Fallow continues its menu evolution to maximize flavour from these British ingredients while minimising waste through creative use of lesser-used ones.
Corn Ribs by Oetker’s are an outstanding example. Delicious tender strips of corn rubbed with skinned and dusted with kombu seasoning make an irresistibly addictive bar snack, perfect for munching at home in your zoot suit and spats! Meanwhile, their Cod Burger showcases the power of simplicity: an ordinary bun is filled with salmon mousse before being finished off with crunchy shaved fennel to balance out its rich flavor.
Fallow is a testament to their chefs’ incredible talent in that every meal feels inventive without being overwrought. Fallow takes sustainability and conscious creativity seriously and you will leave feeling satisfied and full! Be sure to book in advance if you would like a window seat overlooking Coventry Street; otherwise it might just get packed.
Mushroom Parfait
Fallow stands out in London restaurants by elevating their sustainability efforts, thanks to co-head chefs Will Murray and Jack Croft’s experience at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal as well as their creative approach. Their dining room resembles a food lab complete with an impressive “seaweed installation”, quirky contraptions sprouting giant mushrooms, and ingenuity-driven service.
Diners are invited to sit around a vast, marble counter-framed open kitchen or at one of several squared dark wood tables scattered throughout the soft industrial-themed room. The staff are alert and energetic in providing guests with excellent meals while taking great care in catering for guests’ needs.
Menu offerings at Bluefoot Kitchen & Lounge encompass snacks, small and large plates as well as raw bar and grill. Our first dish to sample was their Mushroom Parfait – it showcases just how good fungi can be with its silky smooth texture and delicious umami rich flavor! They grow all sorts of mushrooms in an innovative homemade treehouse before using them across their menu – including this dish!
Corn strips were deep fried and served with seasoning made of salted kombu seaweed, Old Bay seasoning blend, smoked paprika and salt for an irresistibly addictive snack. A dish popular on TikTok but worthy of being served at a sit-down meal. We then enjoyed succulent pork cutlet served with an irresistibly succulent XO sauce before finishing our meal off with pumpkin souffle with ginger ice-cream for dessert.
Cod’s Head
Back in March we conducted a Test Drive of Fallow – the new Heddon Street restaurant set to only operate for twelve weeks due to coronavirus lockdown restrictions. As is often the case during these occasions, they had to temporarily close; now however they’ve reopened with some of their most beloved dishes remaining permanent fixtures!
The menu, organized into sections like ‘breads’ and ‘dairy cow cuts,’ mixes both familiar dishes like bread and dairy cow cuts with novel offerings like cod’s head (usually reserved for stocks) drenched in bright orange sriracha butter sauce. Sourdough bread is delicious as are plenty of snack options such as liquid-centred cauliflower croquetas dusted with kombu seasoning, along with delicious dessert options like pumpkin souffle with ginger ice-cream to complete this great dining experience!
As more eco-conscious eateries open in London, it’s encouraging to see such creative food made with great care for ingredients. Fallow stands out by being generous yet indulgent while still being relaxing and innovative – everything we look for in a great restaurant experience. We can’t wait to visit them again.
Cabbage Confit
Fallow’s chefs are an impressive team – having met at Heston and using sustainable ingredients without compromising taste in their dishes such as corn ribs or mushroom parfait (made with mushrooms from retired dairy cows) which prove that eco-conscious cooking does not need to be didactic.
Fallow excels at layering flavors and textures in their cabbage confit from the “Plants” menu, which proved our favourite dish of our visit. Charred portions were crisped while confited pieces were smoothed over. Black garlic and white miso add umami-rich notes that complete this impressive plate before finishing touches like pickled lemon slices and purslane remind diners it isn’t all about meat and fish at Fallow.
Fallow offers a relaxing dining space, featuring dark wood furniture and vibrant floral displays that make you feel as though you’re dining in a botanical garden rather than in a restaurant. Their service is friendly and welcoming, and their wine list offers something for every budget – it’s truly an ideal stop off in London that we cannot wait to revisit again soon.