patterson's

i love patterson's. i have always loved patterson's. but after dinner on friday night – its status as being one of my favourite restaurants in london is now truly impregnable. how could i not adore a restaurant that makes me squeal in delight when they bring me my desert plate with birthday wishes written in chocolate icing which made us ask – how could they have known?

the food at patterson’s is exquisite – as testified by the clean plates we sent back and the many purrs of pleasure. this was also testified by the couple next to us. the husband was extremely protective of his puddings, assiduously fending away his wife’s straying spoon which hovered slyly over his plate.

they serve sensibly generous portions, and it was a good thing as we were 5 very hungry girls with slightly varying preferences. we were served a chilled watermelon consommé with basil cream and foam before our starters arrived. my tempura of langoustine and vegetables was brilliant - extremely light and crisp and executed by someone who knew what he was doing with tempura. the informal food trading system which had evolved round our table meant that I also managed to sample M’s rabbit tortellni and Y’s iberico ham over a poached duck egg and waffle.
the dover sole was a delight to eat. cooked to perfection, yummy just isn't sufficient a word to describe the smoothness of the flakes of dover sole against a backdrop of extremely creamy mash and the punch of basil coated gnocchi. by the point of eating it all I was much too full to scoff down more of y's steak and ym's lobster which both tasted amazing from the forkfuls we had exchanged.

my chocolate icing adorned desert plate had on it an abundance of chocolate in the form of a chocolate and lemon grass ice cream, chocolate and chilli mousse and a chocolate cream tart. on the table was also the trio of sorbets which were sandwiched between caramelized pineapple slivers and a fruit consommé with pastry straw.

i love patterson's. i love the food, the beautiful service, it's sleekness, sophistication, simplicity and intimacy. i love the very tactile parsley like plants on each table which we took turns to squash. patterson’s holds many fond memories – my last supper before moving to Tokyo, the blind date with the guy from the marines and various other tête-à-têtes. sitting there with 4 of my best girlfriends in london that night, it's yet another memory to add to the treasury. and i have absolutely no doubt it will be the setting for many more to come.