Newly opened in the heart of Barkston Gardens at The Hotel Indigo minutes away from Earls Court station, is The Kensington Quarter group. A new partnership between the two, it’s the first time the Quarter group worked with a hotel. The Kensington Quarter opens an all day innovative dining, café, bar restaurant and deli.
The moment you step inside the doors your, you enter the deli, where you can buy freshly baked bread and condiments. A glass cabinet displays irresistible cakes and people can come and have a drink and nibbles.
The space is different to other hotel restaurant, each corner has different themes, it’s like walking inside Ikea showroom where you have different vibes.
Invited down for a private dinner party, the room was filled with luxurious big leather chairs with tables and globes and a magnify glass, like a study room.
The Quarter group already has 4 other locations. They don’t want to be known as a chain with each location they try and reflect and fit into the neighborhood. Starting with cocktails, I especially loved the strawberry one with bell pepper and chili twist.
Moving on to the next 3 starters dishes, everything served throughout the night came on black artist palette slate boards, well presented and executed. The two that stood out were the salad of confit lancaster duck leg and oven baked goats cheese tart.
Three slices of smoked pink duck breast served as cold meats, melon balls and a poached egg topped with golden yellow creamy hollandaise sauce. The duck breast went down well with the sweetness of melons. Cooked perfectly with the moisture still present.
The goat cheese tart hits your nose immediately and cleverly hidden in between a sandwich of crumbly crust with red onion, marmalade, beetroot, apple salsa. Although the goat’s cheese wasn’t visible to the eye, the taste lingered in my mouth until the next dish.
The last starter dish was my least favourite, grilled artichoke salad with broccoli, green beans, celery, parmesan, parsley drizzled with lemon and olive oil. There was hardly any parmesan and dressing was too light.
The following 3 main courses came out next. A super creamy butternut squash risotto, the consistency was smooth throughout, mushy with delicate flavours. Even the shaved parmesan was loaded on sparingly.
Roast sea bass, came in a cube size, placed on top of potato galette and pea veloute, accompanied by Russian salad. Roast sea bass had a great bite, skin super crispy and meat that flake off.
The clear favourite amongst us had to be the five-spice braised shoulder mutton. Presented in a clay pot, loaded with piles of roasted vegetables. The mutton cooked so tender, it melted inside my mouth. I couldn’t get enough of the roasted potatoes, they were full of flavour. Cous cous were the perfect pairing, fluffy topped with pomegranate, adding that lovely crunch at the end.
The last courses were desserts, three beautifully presented, chocolate delice, smooth creamy chocolate with blueberry and pistachio crème. What I loved about this one was the seriously smooth texture; the crème wasn’t too overly rich and was light on the stomach.
I initially thought I would love the spicy banana and ginger tart tatin, I just wished the spice elements stood out more.
Lemon meringue pie, had the citrus sharpness and sourness from the plums, loaded into a nice tart base. Also accompanying the meal was a great selection of wines. Sadly I was down with an infection to enjoy.
Head chef Riad Zaik delivers great tasting food, and I know that for anyone that walks into the doors of Kensington Quarter. They would enjoy the atmosphere, food and have anything they want at all times of the day and night.
34-44 Barkston Gardens
Kensington, London
SW5 0EW
Tel: 020 7370 9130
{google_map}34-44 Barkston Gardens
Kensington, London
SW5 0EW{/google_map}
