Tallow

Tallow has been on my list for some time and as a Michelin Guide recommendation, I decided to book it for lunch. The restaurant has a comfortable setting with nice decor if you're sat downstairs and the chef's table looks to be the same. Only one toilet upstairs though. To start, we ordered their only available cocktail special; a blood orange gimlet. The blood orange flavour didn't come to the fore, didn't appear to be double strained, the observed shaking was lacklustre, and the overall cocktail was lacking in balance. The non-alcoholic version was good. Focaccia with olive oil and balsamic served alongside a blue cheese amuse bouche to begin. The focaccia was excellent and the amuse bouche was very good. Between 4 of us, we ordered all 3 starters which compromised a Wild Seabass with carrot jam and masala crab sauce, Confit duck doughnut with liver parfait and port glazed prunes, and the Marmite mushroom agnolotti with confit egg yolk and Pecorino mousse. All 3 were average. The sea bass was tasty but lacking depth, the confit duck was quite dense as it was served in a doughnut and the duck was tough for confit, and the agnolotti was probably the best but again lacked depth of flavour; certainly no marmite umami richness. The Black garlic glazed pork fillet with smoked pork belly, Roscoff onion and burnt apple puree followed as mains. This was thoroughly disappointing, particularly at £32. There was no discernable black garlic flavour, the pork itself was bland, and most egregiously, incredibly dry. I mentioned this to the wait staff and whilst they did bring me a fresh plate, the comments were passive aggressive as she highlighted that all 3 orders from our table were from the same fillet of pork. A fresh plate arrived and the difference was night and day; the pork was juicy and much more enjoyable. Other than appropriately cooked pork though, the flavours were identical to the first plate. We also opted for all 3 available sides. Parsnips were flavoursome but soggy, the potatoes were underdone though the cabbage was delicious. After disappointing drinks, starter, mains, and sides we opted for no dessert. And settled the bill at an overpriced £345 for 4 people. Service was also disappointing and on par with a pub; no welcome or explanation of the menu whatsoever unless prompted. I think the quality of produce is good but the result on the plate is thoroughly disappointing.